BLU
by A.K. Hakusho
Summary: Set after the end of the anime. Seto Kaiba is prepping for the 2nd KC Grand Championship when his world is turned upside down. A face from the ancient past and a new technology just for Kaiba Corp. Will love bloom or will the feelings of the past fall to dust?
1. Chapter 1

Seto Kaiba was immensely pleased with himself as he watched his staff working, rushing and scurrying about with fervor. The young CEO couldn't suppress the grin that crept across his face.

Kaiba Corp. was on top of the world with every division of the company gaming sector was pushing out new games and apps for their latest product, the KC tablet, and third party app developers were coming in by the droves to sell their own apps on the Kaiba Corp. platform.

Of course, it was Kaiba Land that was creating all the chaos at Kaiba Corp. today. The Domino City park was unveiling their latest expansion in a few days and, naturally, the only way to really kick off this achievement was to hose the second KC Grand Championship. Duelists from all over the world had been invited once again to compete in his theme park, with the victor getting a chance to duel Yugi Mouto in an exhibition duel.

Seto's smirk slipped for just a moment as he remembered that, once again, he would not be competing in his own tournament. The feeling was quickly shoved away as his cell phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. Seto withdrew his phone and quickly accepted the call after seeing Mokuba's name flashing on the screen.

"Mokuba, is something wrong?"

"You know, you could just say 'Hello' when you answer the phone, Seto," Mokuba's voice laughed back through the speaker. Seto felt the knot in his chest loosen ever so slightly. "Everything is fine, big brother, but-HEY!"

"KAIBA! I need a favor!" Seto cringed as Joey Wheeler's voice screeched through his phone. The CEO sighed as he heard Mokuba wrestling the phone back from the blond duelist.

"Why is Wheeler with you?" Seto grumbled and rubbed at his temples.

"He's in the registration shop and...well, you might just want to come down here." Seto sighed and hung up without saying goodbye. What the hell could Joey Wheeler want?

* * *

"You have got to be joking. What did you do, throw it from a speeding car?" Seto examined the all but destroyed duel disk in his hands. The wrist guard was hanging haphazardly from its hinges, the card platform was bent and therefore could not move into place, along with a dozen other broken and twisted pieces that were somehow still hanging on.

"No! I just dropped it!" Seto threw Joey, who was standing with his arms crossed and a huffy pout, a glare and set the duel disk back on the desk by his technician.

Seto had completely forgone the pleasantries to Yugi and his gaggle of friends, Tea and Tristan as well as Joey, when he had caught sight of the mangled piece of machinery. He glanced down at Mokuba, who only shrugged half heartedly, before turning back to the geek patrol.

"Off a ten story building? There is no way you could possibly do this much damage by simply dropping it, Wheeler."

"Come on, Kaiba," Joey shifted into a pleading pout and pressed his palms together before him, begging. "Can't I just get it fixed? I need a working duel disk for the tournament."

"How bad is the internal damage?" Seto demanded of his technician. The employee handed over a sheaf of paper wordlessly, sweating bullets as his boss snatched it up. Even this lowly peon knew the news he was about to deliver was not good. Seto scanned his eyes over the page and grinned.

"Well, I suppose we could fix your duel disk. Of course, it won't be cheap," Seto cast his navy eyes up and his smirk grew. "You are looking at, at least, four or five hundred dollars worth of repair work."

"What?!" Joey screeched and his friends also cringed at the amount. "Can I get just a little bitty friends discount?" Joey pleaded. Seto scoffed and tossed the paper down.

"No. Either pay the price or you don't compete."

Joey huffed and twitched, pulling at his hair in frustration and tugging at his blond hair. Finally, he slammed his hands down on the table and turned his fuming gaze at the young CEO.

"Urgh! Ya think you're so great with all your fancy employees, but I have a personal duel disk tech that can knock any of your guys out of the water!"

Seto merely shrugged at the outburst, sure that Joey was bluffing. The school boy snatched up his duel disk and hugged it to his chest.

"Just you see, Kaiba! I'm gonna get my duel disk fixed and be back in time to register for the tournament."

"Joey," Yugi warned, tugging at the taller boy's sleeve. "The whole reason for coming here was because we _didn't_ want to take your duel disk to Blue."

"Yeah, man. Blue is way scarier than Kaiba. Just pay the fee and let's go," Tristan urged. Seto's ears pricked up.

"Who the hell is 'Blue'?" Seto demanded. Joey grinned broadly.

"Only the best tech in the city! Blue can fix anything and I bet do it for not even a tenth of the price!" Seto scowled and came around the table, towering over the loud mouthed duelist.

"Mokuba, I'm leaving you in charge. I need to see this 'amazing technician' for myself."

"You're on, money bags!" Joey challenged. Yugi, Tea, and Tristan all sighed as they followed Joey and Kaiba out the doors. Somethings never changed.

* * *

"So, your fancy technician is so advanced, he accepts payment in coffee and gift cards?" Seto scowled at the back of Joey's head. The blond had insisted they make a stop at a small coffee shop on the way and was now carrying a massive, steaming cup of coffee in one hand while balancing his busted duel disk in the other.

Joey deigned not to respond as he stomped up to an apartment building and smashed a buzzer with his elbow. A minute later, a familiar voice wafted from the speaker.

"Hello?"

"Serenity! It's me. Let me in!" The door buzzed and the group moved into the entrance hall, turning immediately to the elevators. The group all squeezed inside and let the elevator ascend.

"I hope you don't mean to convince me that your sister is going to repair your duel disk," Seto sneered. The longer this was taking, the more irritated he was getting. Suddenly, Seto wanted to kick himself for abandoning his tournament preparations simply to prove that Joey Wheeler was an idiot.

Joey huffed and marched out of the elevator as it dinged open. Seto shot Yugi a withering glare but the shorter boy just sighed and followed his friend. Serenity opened the door to a small apartment as they all approached, calling out a happy "Hey, guys," before giving Seto a puzzled look.

"Oh. Hey, Kaiba. What brings you here?"

"Sis, where's Blue?" Serenity looked back to her brother.

"Blue? She's sleeping right now." Seto rolled his eyes. This was turning out to be a waste of time. What kind of lazy human being would be sleeping in the middle of the day?

"Blue! Rise and shine!" Joey hollered out and moved past his sister.

"He's asking to get his butt kicked again," Tristan muttered. Seto watched Yugi and Tea nod in unison as they all entered the small living space. Seto took in his surroundings, vaguely listening to Serenity trying to shush her brother.

The apartment was nice, obviously much nicer than anything Serenity could afford on her own. Seto thought hard; he knew every registered Kaiba Corp. technician in the city. Whoever this 'Blue' was must be talented to afford such a quality living space. How had Seto never heard of her until now, though?

Seto noticed Serenity disappear down a side hall with Joey not far behind. He followed, intrigued against his better judgement of just who this 'Blue' could be.

"Hey, Blue?" Serenity tried with a soft knock on the first door to the left. When no answer came, she nudged the door open and let light spill into the dark space. Seto peeked in over Yugi's head. Something shifted in the pile of blankets on the bed and Serenity tiptoed in.

"Blue?" she said again, shaking the mound of bedding gently.

"Is the shop on fire?" came a soft but distinctly irritated voice from the nest.

"Um...no." Serenity cringed.

"Are you bleeding profusely?" the voice huffed.

"No."

"I'm sleeping. Out."

"Blue! I really need your help," Joey suddenly burst out and charged into the room, towering over the bed. There was a groan from the bed and the person in it, still hidden from view, shifted again.

"Go. Away." Joey groaned and assumed a kneeling position on the carpet.

"Please?! It's important!"

"I don't care," the voice groaned, obviously becoming more annoyed.

"I have coffee," Joey said in a sing-song voice and wiggling his eyebrows. The figure in the bedding was quiet for so long that the entire group believed they had fallen back asleep. However, an irate sigh signaled that the person was still awake. Serenity moved back as the blankets shifted and the person sat up. As the covers slipped away, Seto suddenly forgot how to breath.

A pale hand pulled the last sheet away from an equally pale face and a shock of long white hair that pooled across the bed. Half lidded, sleepy blue eyes glinted in the light from the hallway, landing on Joey. Irritation raged in those amazing blue eyes, ferocious and filled with life.

"You better have a damn good reason for waking me up."

Seto felt a shiver move through him at the harsh but soft voice; a voice he had only heard once in his life. Well, this life.

 _It's her,_ Seto thought wildly as snippets of memories that were not his own flickered through his mind.

 _Kisara._

* * *

 _Author's note: I am back with an all new story! Please read and review. Chapters will be uploaded as completed.  
_


	2. Chapter 2

Seto didn't know what to think. He had told himself for months that the visions he had seen in Egypt were nothing more than hallucinations of his tired mind; a trick Yugi and his squad of cheerleaders had somehow pulled off. True, he had thought about the pale young woman from those "hallucinations" several times since then but he had always been able to convince himself she was nothing more than a figment of his imagination.

Well, until now.

"You're a moron," Blue huffed out harshly from her perch on the kitchen countertop, coffee in one hand and Joey's defunct duel disk in the other. Clad in a dark blue tank top and a pair of even darker yoga pants that hugged along her narrow hips, this girl was a far cry from the peasant girl Seto had seen. She swept a lock of long, snowy hair from her face, hooking it behind an ear.

"I...dropped it," Joey muttered sheepishly and Blue fixed him with a look. Seto felt the tiniest bit of jealousy that she had yet to turn those fiery eyes to him. Of course, Blue had yet to address anyone besides Serenity and Joey up to this point.

"Out a window? It's practically scrap," she snapped and chucked the duel disk back at its owner. Joey juggled the disk and, once gaining his grasp on it, held it to his chest.

"Aren't you going to fix it?"

"For _one_ venti triple shot latte? No." Blue took another long pull from the cardboard cup. Joey rooted around in his pocket and produced a gift card.

"Forty bucks on this bad boy," he announced proudly.

"Still no." Joey sweat dropped at the girl's blunt reply.

"Don't you think you could help my brother out, Blue?" Serenity asked sweetly.

"I don't see why I should. He obviously doesn't respect his tech or the time I spend fixing it," Blue muttered in reply.

"He needs a working duel disk. Joey has to compete in the KC Grand Championship next week," Tea argued. Blue just took another gulp of coffee, obviously not interested.

"Come on, Blue; please? Joey even brought Kaiba along so he could see how awesome you are at fixing stuff!" Yugi added, hopefully.

That had her attention. Blue blinked over the top of the take away lid, eyes darting from Yugi to Tea and Tristan and finally landing on the young CEO, who was watching from the doorway.

Seto felt like he couldn't breath again. She was staring at him and he couldn't speak. He should say something, anything. He needed to not look like a total idiot right now. For god's sakes, he was the president of Kaiba Corp! He could talk circles around some of the best businessmen in the world but put one pair of blue eyes in a pretty face and-

"Has Seto Kaiba been here the whole time?" The way she said his name, how the syllables tumbled across her lips, sent a shiver down his spine.

"Uh...yeah? I wanted to show him you could fix my duel disk!" Joey stated and his friends all nodded in agreement. Blue slapped a hand over her eyes and groaned, effectively breaking whatever spell she had set upon the young CEO.

"And you _let_ me walk around in this?" Blue cried indignantly to Serenity, tugging at her tank top. Serenity stifled a laugh at her roommate's dismay.

"How did you not notice?" Tea asked and Blue gave her a glare, causing the girl to tense.

"Blue has been working really hard for the Tokyo Tech Expo, guys," Serenity offered as an explanation.

"Not that that is anyone's business," Blue added and shifted her eyes back to Seto. "Hey. I'm Blue," she said, giving a little wave with her free hand.

"Kaiba." Oh good; his vocal chords did work. Blue gave another huff and pushed herself off the counter.

"Yeah, I know," she sighed. "I'll fix it; since I have an audience, apparently…"

"Woo! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Joey chanted in his excitement, jumping up and down with his duel disk.

Blue rolled her eyes and brushed past the group and Seto, the latter stepping back to keep from bumping her. The girl didn't look at him again but rather marched to the door, snatching up a ring of keys and shoving them into her pocket.

"Wow. I can't believe she didn't punch you," Tristan muttered to Joey, earning a surprised look from Seto.

"She really must be tired," Tea added. "How long did she stay awake this time?" The question was directed at Serenity but it would go unanswered.

"Keep talking and I'm not fixing jack," Blue all but snarled as she pulled on a pair of black Ugg boots. "Come on. The parts I need are in the shop."

Blue proceeded out the door without giving any of them a second glance. The group could do nothing but follow the young woman. Blue walked away from the elevator Seto and the others had taken, turning a corner down the hall. As the group rounded the corner themselves, they saw another elevator; this one much larger and older than the main one. Blue tugged the old rusty cage to the side and stepped in.

"Going down?" she asked sarcastically as they all trudged in. Seto took up the space behind Blue and watched as she pulled the ring of keys from her pocket. The girl placed a key into a slot and smashed a large, red knob marked with a 'B' before rolling the gate shut once again. The elevator began to slowly descend and Blue took another long pull from her coffee cup.

"Does everyone remember the rules?" Blue asked, looking to the group behind her with a cocked eyebrow.

"Don't touch anything," the other teens replied in monotone, sounding chastised. Blue fixed Tristan and Joey with an icy glare and the two boys couldn't help but fidget under her gaze.

"And…?" Blue prompted.

"Hands in our pockets," Joey and Tristan muttered and did as they said, shoving their palms into their jeans.

"Good." Blue handed off the coffee cup to Serenity, who accepted it without argument. "I assume the CEO of the world's largest gaming corporation can behave, right?" Blue asked and began to tie her long hair back in a high ponytail, looping the base several times with an elastic from her wrist.

"I am not a child," Seto replied automatically. He was still unsure what to make of this strange girl. Blue cast him a sideways glance and he could see that she didn't completely trust him. Apparently, whatever strange effect she had on him was one sided.

"Fair enough." Blue yanked the gate open as they arrived in a long hallway. The corridor was illuminated every few feet by fluorescent lights hanging from the tall ceiling. The group passed a half dozen gray steel doors before Blue stopped at one and placed her hand against what appeared to be a plate of black glass. Seto noticed the barest glimmer of light move behind that glass before the door clicked noisily. Blue yanked open the heavy door without any preamble. Lights began to flicker on, along with a bank of computer screens along the far wall.

"Just a fingerprint scanner? That hardly seems secure," Seto said, a hint of superiority in his voice.

"I'd watch it, Kaiba. That scanner thing bites," Joey replied with a shudder. Seto cocked a brow and took a closer look at the black panel.

"It's a bio-scanner. It takes a tissue sample to ensure proper identification," Blue said over her shoulder as she walked up to a long counter in the center of the room and began typing into a keyboard.

 _That is impressive,_ Seto thought and entered the room completely. He let his gaze wander around the set up and couldn't help but be a little impressed. The space was not overly large but it was utilized well. The screens lighting up along the far wall were stacked in three rows with five spanning across each row. The wall to the left looked to be some kind of massive motorized bucket organizer which could rotate the shelves backwards and forwards for easy access. Each bucket was filled to the brim with an assortment of hardware and tools, many of which resembled pieces of his own duel disk system. The wall to the right held an assortment of machines stacked on filing cabinets: a couple of computer modules, all glowing and linked with wires, a printer, and…

"Where did you get an Ultimaker?" Seto asked as he ran his hands along a gleaming 3D printer.

"Actually, that's the Ultimaker 2. Much faster and more precise. Well, after I tweaked the driver software," Blue replied flippantly as she began hooking up the access chord from Joey's duel disk to a port nestled in the center of the long counter.

"Blue, you have four new emails and two missed video calls," a robotic but feminine voice suddenly chimed from somewhere overhead. Seto tore his eyes away from the shining printer to watch Blue work.

"Later, Vi. I need a full diagnostic scan and assessment," Blue commanded as she began pulling parts and pieces from the rows of buckets along the other wall.

"Scanning," Vi replied. Seto watched as diagrams and statistics flashed along the screens. Blue's program was pulling up all the internal damage of Joey's duel disk even faster than his own program could.

"Kaiba Corp. Duel Disk, registered to user Joseph Wheeler, recognized," 'Vi' stated. "Satellite tracking: compromised. Holographic driver-ware: compromised. Graveyard drive: compromised."

"Did you get peanut butter in there again?" Blue asked and pressed a pedal on the floor with her foot. The row of buckets began to rotate into the wall and another row appeared.

"I only did that two times!" Joey argued as Blue released the pedal and resumed gathering parts.

"Three times. Anything else, Vi?"

"Card platform arms requires full replacement, along with secondary card drives three and five." Blue snatched up another part and examined it carefully.

"Hm...Go ahead and print up another arm cuff. KC template DDAC4," Blue ordered. Another screen flashed to life with a spinning image of the arm cuff.

"Would you like to enter custom measurements?" 'Vi' asked. Joey started to bounce excitedly on the balls of his feet at the prospect.

"No, standard is fine." The 3D printer in the corner lit up as it began its task.

"Aw. You made a custom cuff for Yugi, though," Joey pouted.

"Yugi knows how to handle his duel gear so he gets custom work," Blue retorted, causing the shorter duelist to blush. Laying out the assundry parts, Blue extended her now free hand behind her. Serenity jumped but deposited the coffee cup back into the girl's palm, which Blue accepted without a word of thanks. Taking a long pull, Blue seated herself on a tall stool and pulled one leg under her while the other dangled off the seat.

"Vi, go ahead and prepare the latest KC Duel Disk operating system for download," Blue said after she took another drink from the cup. Tugging open a drawer to her left, the girl grabbed up some tools and set to work disassembling the duel disk.

"Prepped," Vi replied but was interrupted by a chiming sound. "You have a video call from In-"

"Screen," Blue said as she wedged off the duel disk's top casing, showing the internal workings of the machine.

"Vi?" Seto questioned, sidling up to the counter to watch Blue. The girl didn't look up as she began, hands seeming to fly across the parts, removing and tossing aside the broken pieces before replacing the new parts with ease.

"Short for V.I.O.L.E.T, or Very Intelligent Operating, Linguistics, and Entertainment Tech. Joey," Blue suddenly snapped and turned an angry look to the blond, who was picking up a part from one of the buckets. "Put that back."

"Yes, ma'am," Joey croaked and dropped the piece back where he had taken it from before shoving his hands back in his pockets. Blue rolled her eyes and went back to her work.

Seto was baffled at how fast Blue could assess and repair his technology. The state of this duel disk was deplorable and easily should have taken several hours to repair; but here was this girl, who couldn't be any older than himself, practically rebuilding this duel disk in less than half an hour.

"Blue, your arm cuff is complete," Vi said abruptly. "And another video call from-"

"Screen," Blue said again. "Serenity, ya mind?"

"Oh! Sure," the brunette chimed happily and went to gather up the freshly made piece. Blue tapped a few keys and glanced at the bank of screens.

"Start the OS download."

"Yes, Blue," Vi replied. Blue locked the top casing in place and flipped the duel disk over, prying off the busted arm cuff before tossing it aside like all the other parts.

"You certainly know your way around a duel disk," Seto said, earning a haughty look from Blue. Not that he would admit it, but Seto could feel his heart skip a beat as Blue looked into his eyes.

"Yeah, I could pretty much build one of these in my sleep at this point," Blue replied with a short laugh, taking the new arm cuff from Serenity. The girl turned back to the duel disk and began attaching the part.

"OS download complete." The computer chimed again. "Another video call fro-"

"Go ahead and put him on screen," Blue sighed, her brief moment of good humor evaporating. The screens all converged and a familiar face filled them, much to Seto's despair.

"Oh, Blue! It's about time you answered my call!"

"You really need to stop harassing me, Pegasus," Blue deadpanned at the screen.

"Well, someone hasn't had enough coffee today," Pegasus said back with a smile. The older man widened his one good eye as he took in the other people in the room. "Oh, I see you are having a party of sorts. About time you became more social! Yugi, Joey. Oh, and Serenity, Tea, and Tristan, too!"

The group all waved and issued "Hellos"; clearly, they had all forgiven the eccentric billionaire for any ill deeds of the past.

"I'm working, not partying," Blue bit back as she unhooked the duel disk and thrust it back at its owner. "If you want me to take a look at that new duel monsters game app again, you can forget it. I'm too busy to fix your programming team's mistakes." Pegasus looked deflated for a moment but then he caught sight of Seto.

"Don't tell me you are working for ole' Kaiba-boy now! That would be mighty unfair of you, Blue," Seto tensed, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. While Yugi may have gotten over Pegasus's betrayals, Seto was still not a fan of the man.

"I can have a contract with any client I want, Pegasus. Freelance, remember?" Blue replied.

"Fine, fine," Pegasus added with a wave of his hand. "Just don't go giving Kaiba-boy a sneak peek of that new product you are making for the Expo next month. See you, then; ta-ta for now!" With a blink, Pegasus disappeared off the screen.

"You work for Pegasus?" Seto seethed, turning ferocious eyes on Blue. The idea of Blue's involvement with Pegasus in anyway was infuriating to him. Especially after seeing just how talented she was with not only his own technology but the ability to create her own.

"I do alpha testing and consultation for several gaming and technology companies, not just Industrial Illusions," Blue replied evenly, meeting Seto's glare without any sense of fear. She turned away and began shutting down her system.

"Show's over. Everyone out."


	3. Chapter 3

Seto Kaiba was obsessed. It had been six days since his chance meeting with Blue and the young CEO had found it almost impossible to sleep, work, or be productive in anyway.

Even now, with the second KC Grand Championship opening ceremonies only hours away, Seto couldn't fall asleep. Everytime he closed his eyes he saw her; long white hair, blazing blue eyes filled with life.

 _I'm being an idiot,_ Seto thought angrily as he rubbed at his own azure eyes. Regardless, he still felt a flutter in his chest, excitement for the coming morning and the prospect of seeing Blue again.

* * *

 _"See, Kaiba? I told you I had the best tech in the city on speed dial!" Joey boasted with a massive, cheesy grin. The group had all ridden the large maintenance elevator to the lobby and Blue was busy waving them off._

 _"I'm hardly on your speed dial," Blue griped as she pulled her hair down from the ponytail, running her fingers through the knots. "Your sister is my roommate and that is the only reason I bother with you, nitwit."_

 _"Aw, come on. You like me just a little bit." Blue scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Really, though. Thanks, Blue," Joey added sincerely, smiling sweetly at the girl._

 _"Whatever. Take better care of your duel disk 'cause I'm not fixing it again." With the last person off the elevator, Blue slid the gate shut again, sealing herself inside._

 _"Are you going back to the lab?" Serenity asked._

 _"No, I'm going back to bed."_

 _"Well, I guess we'll see you at the tournament, then," Yugi piped up. Seto's own ears perked up at the thought._

 _"Maybe. Laters," Blue replied with a yawn. And with that, the elevator groaned to life and disappeared upwards._

 _"You really think Blue will come to the tournament?" Tea asked, directing her question at Serenity. The young brunette shrugged and smiled softly._

 _"Most likely._

* * *

Little did Seto know, across the city, Blue was awake as well. The girl was in her lab and hard at work. A mountain of tiny computer components and wires all stacked haphazardly beside a paper coffee cup.

"Blue, it is now three am," Vi chirped from overhead. Blue gave a grunt and continued her tinkering, eyes riveted on the intricate pieces in her fingers.

"The KC Grand Championship will begin in six hours."

Blue's expert fingers slipped for the briefest moment and a tiny blush lit up her cheeks.

"Thanks for the reminder, Vi," Blue bit out harshly. At the mention of the tournament, the young girl's mind had instantly returned to the events from just a few days earlier and her first meeting with a certain CEO.

Blue cleared her throat and set her work to the side to begin shutting down her computers. She tried her best to suppress the flutter she could feel in her stomach as thoughts of seeing Seto again, in person, creeped through her head.

 _God, I need to get a grip!_ Blue thought and shook her head as the last of the monitors darkened. _He's just the CEO of one of the best gaming companies in the world. I've dealt with worse._

It was true; Blue had dealt with CEOs and presidents from some of Kaiba Corp.'s major competitors. However, none of them had had the effect Seto Kaiba seemed to have on her. As the steel door rolled closed behind her and the lock slid into place, Blue leaned against it and thought back to her first encounter with him. It was like the world had stopped and she no longer needed to breath to live. Those hard blue eyes that seemed to be able to look past all her carefully built walls, set into that astoundingly handsome face. The way he had stood at her elbow while she worked on Joey's duel disk, towering over her and exuding an aura of power she could not help but bask in. It had taken all of her restraint to keep up her cool facade while in Seto's presence.

Blue groaned and shoved her palms against her tired eyes as another blush lit up her face.

"I'm so screwed. He is never gonna take me seriously if I keep acting like this!" Blue chastised herself. How the hell was she going to act if she saw him at the tournament? With another sigh, Blue shoved off from the door and began making her way upstairs. She needed to get just a little bit of sleep if she were to fend off this girlish infatuation with Seto Kaiba.

* * *

The opening ceremonies completed and the second KC Grand Championship moving into the first round, Seto Kaiba was taking a rare, brief moment to walk alone across his theme park. Well, almost alone; Roland was trailing not far behind him, prepared to step in and protect his employer should he be needed.

Kaiba had left Mokuba in charge of overseeing the first round of the tournament, confident in his little brother's abilities. Plus, Seto had another motive. He was keeping an eye out for a certain white haired girl. He wasn't sure if Blue had actually came or not, seeing as how he couldn't outright ask Yugi or Joey when he had seen them at the opening ceremonies, but the little warm spot of hope in his chest was keeping him going. As the CEO ducked into the Blue Eye's Arcade, his wish was granted.

"Wow! Check her out!"

"How the hell is she doing that so fast?"

"She's definitely gonna set the high score."

Blue seemed to be oblivious to the crowd of people who had surrounded the gaming platform for the newly released Kaiba Corp. games, watching her. Her eyes were riveted on the screen, twisting the two dials expertly to keep the falling blocks heading into the correct crevices. Seto pushed his way into the crowd to get a better view of the girl.

Blue certainly looked a lot more put together than she had a few days ago. Dark, heeled boots ended right below her knee, giving a glimpse of her pale flesh before an equally dark pleated skirt took over. Regardless of the warm spring day, Blue was wearing a white and blue bomber jacket with the Kaiba Land logo emblazoned across the back and a white tank top underneath. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail but the sides had been intricately braided. A pair of white sunglasses, perched atop her head, completed the ensemble.

"Oh! Hey!"

Seto was so focused on Blue, he had completely missed the person he had all but stepped over: Serenity.

"Kaiba!" Serenity squeaked as Seto turned his gaze on her, her outburst breaking his concentration. "I'm..I'm sorry! I was watching-"

"It's fine," Seto interrupted, turning back to the platform. Serenity stammered for a brief moment, thrown by the lack of derision from the young CEO.

"What level is she on?"

"Huh?...Oh! You mean Blue?" Kaiba gave a short curt nod, not looking away from the girl on the platform. He could see Blue in perfect profile; her blue eyes were bright and a smirk was tugging at the side of her mouth.

"She's on level twenty six, I think?" Serenity replied as she looked at Kaiba quizzically. "Wait! Shouldn't you be at the opening ceremonies?"

"They're over. The first round should be starting now."

"Oh no! We're gonna miss Joey's duel!" Serenity balked before turning to the stage. "Blue! We're missing the first round of the tournament!"

Even the sudden outburst from Serenity couldn't deter Blue's concentration.

"Go on! I'll catch up," Blue called back, never taking her eyes from the screen. Serenity danced in place for a moment, juggling between leaving her friend here and staying.

"Roland," Kaiba barked, turning to his body guard. "Escort Ms. Wheeler to her brother's duel. I'll bring Blue along when she's done."

Serenity gaped at the young CEO's placid face, not entirely sure she had heard him correctly.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba. Come along, Miss," Roland obeyed his order and began to guide Serenity from the arcade tent, the girl still looking back and forth wildly before finally submitting. Kaiba finally turned his eyes back to the gaming platform, entranced.

* * *

Thirty short minutes later, Blue had finally used her last life and her epic game ended to the cheers of the crowd. Kaiba was astounded as her high score flashed across the screen in triumph. Even in testing, no player had ever achieved such a high score, not even him! Blue spun the dials again, entering in her signature to save the evidence of her massive win.

B.L.U. Once the letters were entered and her place of victory cemented in the history of the Blue Eyes White Arcade, Blue rolled her shoulders a bit and moved to the stairs. Several members of the crowd flooded to the steps, vying for the girl's attention; Kaiba, however, would be the one to win that honor.

"Satisfied with yourself? You're making my games look far too easy," Kaiba quipped. Blue's eyes shot to his face, picking him out from the throng of people at the base of the stairs easily. Blue covered her surprise quickly though and descended, smirking.

"Actually, I am. No one is going to beat my score for quite a while," Blue retorted and began pushing past the crowds, and Kaiba, to head for the exit.

"Well, even I can't deny that," Kaiba muttered and followed. Blue gave a short laugh and lowered her glasses, covering her sapphire eyes from sight.

"Shouldn't you be supervising your tournament, Kaiba?" Blue's question was more inquisitive than judgemental. Also, she was right. Kaiba should have been checking in on the duels in progress.

"Shouldn't you be cheering on Wheeler with the rest of your friends?" Kaiba retorted. Blue huffed and stopped to get in line at a food kiosk.

"They are Serenity's friends; not mine. Besides, I already have a pretty good idea how Joey's duel is going to end."

"Don't tell me you're psychic," Kaiba grimaced, fearing that Blue was going to begin spouting about "fate" and "destiny" and the "heart of the cards." Instead, Blue just gave him a bemused look over the tops of her glasses.

"No, I'm not psychic. Anyone with a access to Kaiba Corps duelist statistics and half a brain could work out the probability scenarios."

"Well, if you are so certain, what happens?" Kaiba challenged.

"Joey loses with a deficit of 500 life points." She said it so easily, completely sure of herself.

"For someone who hasn't even checked the duel progress, you seem mighty confident."

"I would bet money on it," Blue replied, stepping up to the kiosk counter. "One strawberry crepe and the largest, blackest coffee you have."

The employee nodded, muttering a quick "Right away!" before hurriedly gathering her order. The young man didn't bother to say anything about Seto Kaiba standing right behind his latest customer; that was above his pay grade. Sliding the wrapped treat and paper cup across the counter, the employee rang up the order.

"That'll be $5.95, miss."

"No, it won't," Kaiba interrupted. Blue stopped rooting around in her jacket pocket for her money and gave him a puzzled look. "She's with me. Let's go." Kaiba didn't wait for a reply from either person and began to walk away. Blue gathered up her items and followed, taking a long pull from her coffee cup.

"I don't mind paying...but thanks," Blue offered before taking a bite of her crepe. Kaiba bit back the small smirk that tugged at his lips, glancing at the girl from the corner of his eye.

"Do you want to see Joey's duel?" Blue scoffed, gulping down another mouthful of coffee.

"I already told you how it ends."

"Why bother coming today if you didn't want to watch?" Kaiba asked, finally stopping and look at the girl.

"I come for the games and stay for the crepes and coffee," Blue laughed, taking another bite of her crepe for emphasis.

"Seto!" Any reply Kaiba would have made was interrupted as Mokuba came sprinting across the park, smiling and waving.

"Mokuba, is everything alright?" Kaiba asked, concern creeping into his chest like ice.

"Oh, yeah! Everything is fine," Mokuba promised, finally coming to a stop before his big brother and catching his breath. "The first duel just wrapped up, so I wanted to come find you."

"Joey lost, right?" Blue piped up, tossing her now empty crepe wrapper into a nearby garbage can.

"Blue? Hey!" Mokuba greeted, offering his fist, which Blue bumped affectionately.

"'Sup, Mad Man?" Blue laughed and took another gulp of coffee.

"Wait, why are you hanging out with my brother?"

"How do you know _my_ brother?" Kaiba interrupted, thrown by the friendly attitude between the two of them.

" _He_ was watching me play that puzzle game you told me about," Blue explained, pointing to the older Kaiba, "and _he_ comes by the arcade all the time."

"Which arcade?" Kaiba demanded.

"Duke's arcade," Mokuba explained. "Blue handles all the gaming consoles and maintenance."

"Speaking of, I should probably get going. You still delivering our new games tomorrow?" The question was directed at Mokuba. The young man nodded but frowned.

"You can't stay to watch the tournament?"

"Sorry, kiddo, but I'll catch ya later," Blue promised before turning away. "Thanks for the coffee, Kaiba." Mokuba waved goodbye and Kaiba watched Blue's receding back before she disappeared from sight all too soon.

"Seto? You ok?" Mokuba asked, finally noticing his brother's odd behavior.

"I'm fine," Kaiba blurted automatically and dug out his phone, opening the KC Admin. app and scrolling to the first round duel results. Flashing across the screen was the results of Joey's duel. Blue had been right; Joey had lost with his opponent still having 500 life points.

* * *

 _Author's note: My apologies for the long awaited update! I am in the middle of an intense Medical Coding course and have had no time to write. Updates will be few and far between but once I complete my program, I will be back regularly. Stay tuned and please review!  
_


	4. Chapter 4

Seto Kaiba was a busy man. His schedule was constantly overflowing with meetings and deadlines, business trips and to-do lists. Of course, that was understandable for the youngest CEO in the gaming industry. Which was why Mokuba was completely baffled when his big brother had elected to abandon his jam packed day to accompan the younger Kaiba as he traveled to several of the more prominent arcades, and customers, across Domino City.

 _Did I do something to make Seto think I couldn't handle these smaller customers?,_ Mokuba internally worriedly as he snuck glances out of the corner of his eye at his brother. They had already been to three arcades and distributors today but Seto had hardly interacted with the store owners at all, instead letting Mokuba handle the arrangements. Honestly, Seto had looked bored for most of the day. Even now as their black limo sped through the crowded downtown streets, his nimble fingers moved expertly across the key of his laptop. If Mokuba didn't know any better he would have thought that the CEO seemed almost detached from his thoughts.

"Mr. Kaiba, we'll be arriving at our destination in a few minutes," Roland called from the front seat. At the announcement, Seto snapped to attention. Mokuba jumped as his brother's head shot up, his blue eyes brightening as he all but slammed his computer shut.

"What's wrong?" Mokuba blurted out, panicked at Seto's abrupt attitude change.

"Hm?" Seto grunted, not looking at his brother but instead straightening the light blue tie around his neck. Mokuba didn't get to clarify as the limo slowed to a stop and Seto stepped from the car.

"Wait for me, Seto!" Mokuba called as he, too, clambered out of the car and onto the sidewalk. "Duke won't be expecting you, big brother!"

"Mokuba, sir!" The younger Kaiba stopped trailing his brother long enough to turn back to Roland. The body guard gestured to a large truck, white and emblazoned with the Kaiba Corp. logo, idling at the curb. The driver and his assistant peered out the window owlishly.

"Hey!" The two jumped at the outburst from the teen. "Don't just sit there! Go around back and start unloading!"

"Yes, sir!" They chorused, tires squealing as the vehicle gunned forward and jerked around a corner. Even though he was the younger brother, Kaiba Corp. employees knew to obey Mokuba on the first command.

Having taken care of directing his staff, Mokuba turned on his heel and scurried inside after Seto. It didn't take long for him to find his brother. Over six feet tall and dressed in his white business suit, Seto Kaiba was easy to pick out among Duke Devlin's customers. Mokuba jogged up to his brother, who was speaking with the Dungeon Dice Monster creator by the front counter.

"Hey, Duke," Mokuba greeted, sidling up to his brother's side. "We've got your new games around back."

"Hey, Mokuba," Duke returned the welcome, smiling tightly. Clearly the older Kaiba's arrival has thrown the young business owner. "Yeah, Kaiba was just telling me. I told him I could sign for them here but he wants to oversee the unloading."

"Is it wrong that I want to ensure that everything is just as you ordered?" Kaiba retorted, smirking and confident. Duke and Mokuba both shared a puzzled look at the request but ultimately no one said 'no' to Seto Kaiba.

"Alright. We can head back but Blue checks in all the new tech." Duke plucked a radio from his belt.

"Blue, come back." The radio was silent for a moment before the reply came filtering back through the speaker.

 _"What's up, Duke?"_ Mokuba noticed his brother glance at the radio.

"The new games from Kaiba Corp. are here."

 _"Well, thanks for the update,"_ Blue snapped back, sounding irritated. _"Just sign at the bottom of the form. I'm busy."_

Duke blushed a bit at the snarky tone he was receiving; and in front of the Kaiba brothers no less! He cleared his throat.

"It's kinda important that you come check the orders, Blue," Duke tried to sound authoritative, but apparently that was the wrong thing to say.

 _"Oh, is it? I'm so sorry, but arena six is still down and it's not going to fix itself. But, hey, you're the one who kept that stupid contract with Industrial Illusions for these pieces of sh-"_

Duke quickly turned the volume knob, silencing his technician's biting retort before she could finish her statement. Mokuba bit back a laugh at Duke's reddening face. The owner had to be embarrassed.

"Uh...we can pick her up on the way," Duke muttered as he marched stiffly around the counter and quickly started off down a side hall, the Kaiba brothers trailing behind. The trio passed a handful of doors, all labeled with numbers and lights showing if the gaming arenas behind it were in use or not. Duel arena six came up on their right, a "Down for Maintenance" sign taped precariously on the blue door.

"Blue?" Duke called as he entered the massive room, boots tapping loudly on the metal catwalk that surrounded the duel arena and lead to the two duel platforms. The arcade owner stomped to the blue dueling platform, sweating bullet as Kaiba continued to follow him.

"If it's the stupid card sensory input cable again, I swear I am gonna rip this whole stupid arena into scrap."

Duke and Kaiba both rounded on the platform where Blue was muttering to herself under the console, lying on her back and fiddling with the inner workings over her head. All the group could see of the girl were her black ankle boots, long legs, black shorts, and blue arcade polo.

"Bluuuuueeeeee," Duke called again, drawing out the name in a sing-song manner.

"Grr! What?!" The girl growled and finally looked away from her work, pushing out partially from under the eyes were blazing, clearly agitated at being interrupted yet again. However, as soon as her sight set upon Seto, the irritation turned into confusion.

"Uh...hi?" Blue asked as she slid out from under the console, tossing her braided hair over one shoulder. "What's going on?"

"Kaiba and Mokuba are here with the new games," Duke clarified as he silently revelled at the sight of his smart mouthed tech at a loss for words. Mokuba waved happily at the girl from his brother's silent side.

"Oh...ok," Blue tread carefully as she pulled herself. "Nice to see you again, Kaiba."

"Hmph. Pegasus's duel arenas giving you trouble?" Kaiba retorted smugly. Blue huffed out a breath, a few stray strands of hair puffing up as her breath caught them, and snatched up her discarded tool belt, snapping the article into place around her hips.

"It's nothing I can't fix," Blue eyed the man carefully before plucking a KC tablet from the console and unlocking it. "How you doing, Mad Man?"

"Pretty good, Blue," Mokuba grinned, happy to have the girl's attention as she moved past them all and began to lead the way to the loading docks. "We've got all the new games you ordered. I think you're really going to like them." Blue shot the younger Kaiba a small grin but then continued scrolling through her tablet. Her smirk disappeared, however, as they reached the loading bay.

"Huh. Looks like your guys made a mistake," Blue muttered as she watched the Kaiba Corp. duo unload the last of six massive crates. The team huffed and puffed as they finally lowered the last of the heavy load onto the dock, wiping their sweaty brows.

"Say what?!" Mokuba eeped, panic surging into his system. A mistake? On his watch, too?! Seto was going to lose it. "What do you mean?"

"We only ordered five consoles but your guys unloaded six," Blue explained as she lowered the tablet to Mokuba's level so he could see her copy of the order she had placed. Mokuba's eyes flickered over the screen as he took in the information. He was mortified. How could this happen? And on all the days it just had to be the one his big brother was with him?!

"Hmph. It's not a mistake."

Mokuba and Blue both turned to look at Seto, shock and curiosity on each face. The older Kaiba stepped forward, smirking.

"You ordered and paid for five of my latest games but, since you're such loyal customers, I have graciously thrown in another," Seto explained as he put his hands in his pockets, appearing relaxed and in complete control. Duke and Mokuba's jaws both smacked the floor, dumbfounded. Blue was hardly impressed, though.

The girl stepped around the CEO, keeping her stony eyes on his before turning to quickly analyze each of the shipping labels. She finally found one she hadn't been expecting.

"This is that sorting game. Like the one at Kaiba Land," Blue said, trying hard to keep her astonishment out of her voice. "You're really just giving us a game easily costing over ten grand?"

"You set the high score," Seto shrugged. "Besides, I had two."

Duke and Mokuba looked back and forth between Seto and Blue. Both were completely amazed at the out-of-character generosity of the young billionaire. Blue, however, wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Fair enough," she chuckled and quickly began scanning the barcodes with her tablet. "Duke, we need to make room in the main concourse for this one. It's gonna get a lot of play time."

"Uh...oh!" Duke jolted out of his stupor and quickly turned to Seto, bowing low in respect. Regardless of their past interactions, Duke knew when manners mattered. "Thank you, Kaiba. I really do appreciate it."

"Don't mention it. Ever," Seto muttered as his humor vanished and his trademark dangerous glint returned to his eyes. Duke gulped and hastily turned away, choosing instead to begin calling for assistance over his radio.

"All the maintenance and warranty info can be downloaded from Kaiba Corp," Seto said and looked back to Blue.

"Oh, Blue has that handled, Seto," Mokuba piped up. "Blue!" The girl turned back to the brothers, having scanned all the crate's labels.

"Will you show Seto that awesome app you made?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure," Blue replied, sounding bored, and handed her tablet over to the older brother. "It's just a little administrative app I programmed. I can access all the data for each of our consoles from there," Blue explained. "Suggested servicing dates, when parts should be replaced and where to order. There is also a map feature for the arcade."

Seto scrolled through the menu selection. He had to admit to himself that the interfacing was simple enough that even someone who wasn't completely computer literate could use it. Not to mention that the appearance of the app looked more profesional that some of his own apps did.

"How did you add the new consoles already?" he asked.

"I added a server link for all the developers we buy from," Blue added. "I just need the barcodes and then all the game data is downloaded from the web. Pretty cool, right?"

"You developed this on your own?" Seto asked instead. He knew better than anyone how time intensive and complicated it could be to create even a simple app for his tablet tech.

"Blue makes all kind of apps," Mokuba supplied. "She even made that Duel Monsters app you like."

" _You_ created the Duel Data Specs app?!" Seto was genuinely amazed. That was probably the best selling Duel Monsters app in his entire online store. He used it, too; no other app had such a detailed rundown of every monster in the game, including all the new releases Industrial Illusions made.

"Yeah, but it needs an update," Blue shrugged.

"If you are impressed by that, wait until you see this awesome project-" Duke's bragging on his employee was abruptly cut off by the villainous glare Blue suddenly leveled on him. Seto Kaiba was an astute individual, though.

"Project?" the CEO queried. Blue huffed out a breath and took her tablet back.

"Just something I've been working on," the girl waved off the question. "If you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work to get done." Blue brushed past them all and back inside.

"Thanks again for the game, Kaiba," she called back with a wave before vanishing from sight.

"Uh, please pardon her rudeness," Duke begged as he took the clipboard offered by the Kaiba Corp. employee and scrawled his signature across the bottom. "But, seriously, and I didn't tell you this," the duelist leaned a little closer to whisper conspiratorially, "you should really check out Blue's presentation at the Tokyo Tech Expo in a few weeks. It's super cool."

"Hmph. Thanks for your business," Seto clipped and turned on his heel to march back to his waiting limo. Mokuba said his good-byes and hustled to catch up to his big brother. Seto Kaiba, however, had retreated back into his own head.

 _If she can make one of the most popular apps for my store, who knows what else she is cooking up,_ the CEO thought with a slight grin. He may have started today with a silly idea to merely see the girl again but now he could feel a real drive to create an acquaintance with this young woman. _Kaiba Corp. could use a new 'it' product._

Seto knew now; he needed a plan to see this 'super cool project' before anyone else.

* * *

 _Author's note: Ok, I am woman enough to say this and not ashamed: I don't know anything about technical programmer jargon. There! I apologize to anyone who does and has to suffer through my horrendous representation here. If you have a good "crash course" reference of terms, pleae share in the comments! I am trying to find some free time to write but updates will still be slow. Please comment and stay lovely!  
_


	5. Chapter 5

Mitchell Goode was exactly what his name implied. He was a young college graduate, having just completed his bachelors in Computer Sciences less than a year ago at Domino University, and a model Kaiba Corporation employee. True, he didn't work at the main head quarters yet but he was a dedicated technician at the largest customer service store in all of Domino City. It was his hope that by taking this job, one that was far beneath his skill levels, that he could rise up in the company. After all, he was only twenty two; he had plenty of years to excel in the gaming industry.

In the few months since our sweet, naive Mitchell had been slaving away over busted Duel Discs and malfunctioning KC tablets, he had heard all the worst horror stories about the "head honcho."

"Mr. Kaiba doesn't come here often; but the one time he did, he fired half the staff on the spot!"

"Mr. Kaiba once drove by and saw a tech taking a smoke break while on company time. Poor guy couldn't even get a job at Quizno's after that!"

Yes, Mitchell had heard it all but our young hero thought himself to be quite impressive. He had played out various scenarios in his head for just the moment when Seto Kaiba would make his appearance, giving Mitchell a chance to sky rocket into the programming department at the corporate headquarters. Mitchell had studied and memorized every protocol for any possible tech question he could be faced with. He knew that when the inevitable day came when the CEO came waltzing into the store, he would be ready to dazzle.

"Sir, I'm, uh...not quite sure what you're asking?" Well, shit.

"What part of 'I need one of the 'to be repaired' tablets was confusing?" Seto snapped as he glowered at the wide-eyed man, who was astoundingly Seto's senior, if only by a year.

"No, sir! I-I mean, um...why?" Oh, bad move, Mitch.

"Did you seriously just ask me 'why'?" Seto's glare somehow got even icier and poor Mitchell felt himself shiver in his chair. The rest of the staff and some of the customers watched on, whispering at the exchange. This was not like any of the little fantasies he had played out in his mind before. No, Mitchell's dreamed up version of Seto Kaiba was not nearly as imposing as the six foot plus power man before him.

"No, sir! I mean, yes, sir! I mean-uh...right away, Mr. Kaiba!" Mitchell shot from his chair and all but sprinted to the repairs room, where multiple devices sat in bins along the wall. He grabbed up the first tablet he saw, plucked the ticket information from the file cabinet, and then bolted back to the front desk.

"About time," Seto huffed and snatched the tablet from the shaking man's hands before stowing it in his briefcase. The CEO then turned on his heel and glided from the store without another word to anyone.

Mitchell, finally realizing exactly what had just happened, collapsed behind the front desk and let out a shaky sigh.

What the hell had all that been about?

* * *

"Hello! Welcome!" Duke called from his front register as young gamers came into his arcade. Business had really picked up with the installation of the new Kaiba Corp. games and Duke couldn't be happier.

"Oh! H-hey, Kaiba." So much for that.

"Devlin," Seto greeted as he approached the counter, looking bored.

"Wow. Twice in one week? What's the occasion?" Duke queried with a hand on his hip. This was some rather interesting behavior from the notoriously shrewd duelist.

"I'm actually here to speak to your technician. She around?" Oh. Even more interesting.

"Uh, yeah. Blue should be back in the repairs shop. Let me ask," Duke replied as he picked up his radio.

"Hey, Blue, come back." There was a moment of silence.

 _"Go ahead."_

"You've got a customer. I'm gonna send him back to the shop."

 _"Alright."_ Duke let out a breath. After the last time Seto had stopped by, he was glad Blue seemed to be in a more compliant mood.

"The shop is through the back hall, last door on the left with a 'Staff Only' sign. Need me to show you?"

"No," Seto clipped and sauntered off, his long purple coat fluttering behind him as all the little gamers ran about, ducking in and out of his path. Duke blinked and wondered what Kaiba could be wanting.

* * *

Seto made his way through the arcade, passing the sorting game he had given to Blue only a few days earlier. She had been right; the game console had a crowd of kids around it and a line of tokens, saving spots for the next gamers, lined up across the screen. Smirking, Seto continued on his way.

The hallway dimmed the cacophony of the main arcade and the only sound you could make out clearly was the tapping of Seto's boots on the tiled floor. Finally, he found the shop and pushed the door open without knocking.

Duke's arcade shop was obviously much larger than the private lab Blue had at her apartment. There were full game console stacked along one wall, repair tickets taped to their black screens, and several tables with baskets of repair orders all ranging from Duel Discs and KC tablets to other, non- Kaiba Corp devices. Towards the back of the room was a long counter with four computer monitors perched atop the light brown surface. Blue was there, perched on a stool, one knee drawn up to her chest and with her back to him. A screenful of code glowed in front of her while another showed a program demo.

Her long, white hair was in a high pony tail today; and she was wearing that same Kaiba Land jacket she had had at the tournament. As the door clicked closed, she finally turned to face him. Seto smirked at her brief look of surprise. Good; he enjoyed catching her off guard.

"If you are here to take back your game, you're gonna have to fight off the gaggle of kids around it," Blue said, recovering quickly from her initial shock.

"I said it was a gift," Seto replied as he strolled towards her. "I'm actually here for something else."

"Oh?" Blue asked and turned back to her screens, carefully minimizing the windows so he couldn't see what she had been working on. Wordlessly, Seto pulled the tablet he had 'borrowed' from his suitcase and offered it to her.

"Can you fix this?" Blue gave him an incredulous look and did not move to take the tablet from his outstretched hand.

"Don't you have a whole staff technicians at Kaiba Corp. for the express reason of fixing _your_ products?"

"I need a rush job."

"So, you came twenty blocks out of your way?"

"I was in the neighborhood." Blue eyes clashed in a tense moment of silence. Finally, Blue sighed and took the device in hand.

"Well, what happened then?" she asked as she grabbed a cord from her desk and hooked the device up to her modem.

"It just stopped working," Seto explained, thinking back to the brief description he had read from the repair ticket on his way over.

"How descriptive," Blue griped and waved at another stool alongside her own. "Grab a seat and I'll see what's up."

Seto complied and found himself content to watch as Blue opened several new programs on her screen. That calm demeanor was soon to crack though as the device, now holding a charge and unlocked by Blue's administration account, lit up and showed the last screen to be opened by the user. Seto felt his whole stomach drop out as a very 'adult' web page glowed back from the table. Silently, he prayed to god that Blue hadn't happened to look down but that was just too much to hope for.

"Oh. I get it now," Blue snorted and turned to the madly blushing CEO with a knowing grin. "Had to bring this all the way down here cause you can't let the peons know that their boss is a perv."

Oh, dear sweet God, just strike him down now. Seriously, just let a bolt of lightning rain from the sky and end him where he sat. It was at his tomato red cheeks and gaping mouth, incapable of coming up with a defense for himself, that Blue busted out laughing.

"Oh my god! Your face!" Blue hooted, unable to contain her obvious joy at Seto's dismay. Seto groaned and shoved a hand against his eyes. He should have known better than to try this ridiculous plan. He was so eternally screwed.

"Ok. Relax. I know this isn't really yours," Blue finally choked out, wiping at her watered eyes. Seto finally dared to look back at the young girl's face, even though his face was probably still red.

"What?"

"It's registered to a Kenichi Hamada. See?" Blue pointed to her screen. "He also happens to be in my repairs database so I know this isn't an alias account. But, man, I wish I had taken a picture. Your expression was priceless!"

"Hmpf. Shut up and just fix the damn thing," Seto growled out as he looked away. So much for him having the upper hand.

"Alright, alright. Give me a minute," Blue giggled as she tapped at her keyboard rapidly. "This thing is riddled with malware. I'll have to wipe it and reinstall that last 'clean' backup from the account."

"Yeah, whatever." Several minutes ticked by in a heavy silence. Blue was the first to pipe back up.

"You can relax, you know. I work on these things all day long and this is hardly the first time I've seen something like this." Seto finally glanced back at the girl's face, reading her expression carefully. Even though her eyes were still glued to the screen, she seemed sincere enough. Maybe he could still turn this around. He just needed to change the subject.

"Where did you get the jacket?"

"Hm?" Blue hummed as she tilted her head in his direction but kept typing.

"I can tell it's limited edition. How did you get it?"

"I won it during preview days before the grand opening of Kaiba Land," Blue explained, turning away from her screen to look down at her own sleeve. "Why do you ask?"

"How were you invited to preview days?" Seto pushed. He had only offered private invitations to the orphanages and foster children from different parts of Domino City for the preview of Kaiba Land. Why would Blue have been there, if her story were true? Blue cast her eyes up to him, her gaze shrewd and guarded.

"My social worker took a group of her case kids and invited me along." The explanation was without preamble and the delivery sharp. It took Seto a few moments to process her meaning. Finally, it clicked and Seto could tell from Blue's shift in attitude that his own expression had changed somehow.

"Don't give me that look. You're an orphan, too" she bit out and turned back to her screens. "You don't get to pity me."

"Who said anything about pity?" Seto retorted smartly. "You seem to be doing fine on your own. If anything, I find your success rather impressive."

Blue stiffened at the almost compliment and turned to look back at him with wide eyes. Seto was smirking at her, leaning his elbow against the counter with his cheek resting on his palm. Anyone who wouldn't have known any better would have found the stance and expression flirtatious but Blue was no fool. Seto Kaiba carefully calculated every move he ever made and this was no different. Regardless of how attractive he was in this moment, Blue felt certain that this was some sort of ploy. Seto wanted something from her but he wasn't going to get it.

"Whatever," Blue sniffed and finally disconnected the tablet to hand off to him. "All done here. Just tell Kenichi to stay off the porn sites."

Seto rolled his eyes, doing his best to cover up the flare of embarrassment at her words, and took the tablet back.

"What do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it." Seto looked up to see Blue had adopted his previous pose and was now leaning on her own hand, smirking much like he had. "The expression on your face when I opened that tablet earlier was more than enough for payment."

Seto growled and snapped his briefcase shut before standing to leave. Damn her; she had flipped the position of power back in her favor.

"I'm just gonna pretend like that never happened," Seto muttered.

"De-Nile is just a river in Egypt, Kaiba." Seto tensed at her words and frantically looked back to Blue's grinning face. Was she alluding to their past lives? Did she know?! Wisps of vision of the past raced through his mind, overtaking his senses. When Seto didn't come back with a snappy reply, Blue's grin slid from her lips.

"That was a joke?" she offered as she took in his panicked eyes. "I won't go blabbing that you brought a porn infested tablet into my shop."

Shaking off any remaining sensations of panic, Seto cleared his throat and turned away.

"I would appreciate that," he muttered and finally moved to leave.

"See ya around, Kaiba," Blue called after him, her voice ringing with mirth as it followed him out the door and back into the hallway.

It was only when Seto got half way out of the arcade that he realized he had not achieved the whole point of this endeavor; he had not gotten a look or even a mention of the project Blue was cooking up for the Tokyo Tech Expo.

 _Damn it,_ he berated himself mentally. _I'm going to have to try again._

* * *

 _Author's note: Please review! I have some free time this weekend so I might be able to get two more chapters up before Monday but I need some encouragement. :)_


	6. Chapter 6

"Seriously, where are you finding these things?" Blue blanched as Seto laid down a busted up Duel Disc on her work surface. The CEO was back at the arcade with his now typical spiel about "being close by" and "needing" some gadget or another "fixed right away." This made the fifth trip downtown for the young businessman in only two weeks.

"Does it matter? I just need it fixed," Seto huffed and took a seat once again on the stool right next to her. Blue shot him a dead eyed look.

"Are you stealing them?" Seto rolled his eyes at her in response. Blue huffed out another breath and proceeded to hook the Duel Disc up to her work system.

"You're wearing your hair differently today," Seto remarked. Usually Blue had her long hair tied back in a braid or a ponytail; but, today, her locks hung loosely about her. She looked so much like the past version of herself that Seto had almost done a double take when he had entered the shop.

"Yeah, I couldn't find a hair tie this morning," Blue said as she swiped a rebellious lock from her face and hooked it behind her ear. "One of these days I am just gonna cut it all off."

"Don't do that," Seto blurted suddenly, causing Blue to give him a questioning look. "I mean...it looks nice that length?" It came out a question as Seto silently berated himself. He had already screwed this up twice by putting his stupid foot in his mouth. What was with him?!

"Huh...ya know, Serenity said the same thing this morning," the girl added with a soft smile and turning back to her screen. "Of course, I think she just says that because she likes to style it sometimes."

Seto wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that statement, so he just sat and watched Blue working silently. Although he wasn't speaking, Seto wasn't merely waiting for Blue to finish her work; he was waiting for a moment. Something to give him a chance to pose the question of what she was making for the Tokyo Tech Expo. However, he kept finding himself distracted when he came to visit. He had mentally prepared himself on every drive over but somehow, each time, he and Blue wound up discussing something else entirely. Of course, he couldn't simply out right ask the girl what she was creating. He knew enough of Blue's character at this point to know she would toss him out on the spot.

"Alright, you can return this to whoever you filched it off of," Blue said triumphantly, instantly halting Seto's inner thoughts. "Unless you have something else you need me to work on?"

"Are you gonna charge me today?" Seto asked instead as he took the newly repaired Duel Disc from her. Blue shook her head 'no.'

"Can I really charge you for fixing random strangers tech?" A smirk tugged at the corner of Seto's mouth and he stood to depart. Halfway to the door, Blue called over her shoulder.

"If you are thinking about getting me on at Kaiba Corp, you can drop that idea." Oh, so she had seen right through him. Well, almost. Seto glanced back to see Blue was giving him a scrutinizing look. He needed to play this cool.

"Oh? What would give you the idea I want you to work for me?" Seto queried, leaning in the doorway with a sly grin.

"Why else would you be trapezing down here every few days with some crap or another that your techs could easily fix?" Blue challenged, not buying into whatever Seto was trying to convey with his body language. That was fine. Seto knew just how to up the ante and, oh, was it gonna be sweet.

"I may come for the programming but I stay for the scintillating conversation."

Seto's grin grew as Blue stiffened and a blush, as light as it was, lit up her cheeks. The Kaiba Man was back in power.

"See ya later," he called as he made his happy way out the door, neglecting to give Blue a chance at a witty retort. A niggling thought in the back of his mind commented how Blue looked almost cute when flustered but he quickly cast that aside. Regardless of who she looked like, Seto told himself he was in this for a new product for Kaiba Corp. The big dummy actually believed his own lie.

* * *

Seto's words had just the effect that he had wanted, little to his knowledge.

It was well into the wee hours of the morning the next day and Blue was in her home lab. She had dozens of tiny metal components scattered across her work counter and she was painstakingly hand painting every last one a glittering shade of iridescent white. Every few minutes her eyes would cut away from the piece in her hand to her bank of monitors, carefully watching a half dozen program simulations. However, just when she would be making a mental note about correcting a glitchy line of code or debating about switching one program's mount system to another, Seto's voice would echo through her thoughts.

 _"...I stay for the scintillating conversation."_

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Blue cursed under her breath for the tenth time in that one hour. She felt herself blushing, again, and cursed herself even harder that _he_ had made her do that.

"Why him?!" Blue groaned and tossed back her mane of white hair in agitation. Another thought barreled into her mind, unbidden.

 _"It looks nice at that length."_ And her blushing took on a higher degree. Finally, Blue set down her work and took to pacing her lab. There had to be a reasonable explanation for Seto Kaiba's recent interest in her. From what she knew of the young business tycoon there was no way she could believe his interest in her stemmed from wanting any kind of romantic relationship. She had already thrown that slightly appealing idea far from her thoughts.

 _He doesn't want me to work at Kaiba Corp, he said so himself. And if he wanted to know about my project, he would just as-_

It finally clicked.

"Oh, that son of a bitch," Blue muttered darkly. She knew exactly what Seto Kaiba really wanted and she could slap herself for being so caught up in all his 'flirting' to miss it.

"Hmpf. Two can play that game, Seto Kaiba," Blue vowed as she took up her work once again, a renewed fervor feeding into her growing frenzy. She had her own agenda regarding Seto Kaiba and she was going to win.

* * *

It was almost a week later when Seto finally returned to Duke's arcade. The CEO had wanted to make an earlier appearance but he had his own arrangements to make with the Tokyo Tech Expo only another week away.

Seto made his now familiar pilgrimage back to the arcade repair shop, having Duke make the announcement of his arrival already over the radio. He swore to himself that, this time, he was going to see whatever it was Blue was cooking up. Of course, Blue was ready for him, too.

"I was starting to wonder if you were coming back." Seto stopped in his tracks upon entering the shop. Blue was perched on her stool, as was her usual place, but this time she was sitting in perfect profile to the door. Furthermore, her usual black shorts and ankle boots to match her work polo were gone. Instead, she had donned a dangerously short, black pleated skirt with a white button down and, of all things, a skinny black tie. She was also wearing a pair of black heels that, while short, made her mile long legs look even longer.

"What ya got for me this time?" she asked and turned those glittering blue eyes on him, brushing a lock of her loose hair from her face.

Good God, she looked...wow. But Seto Kaiba came to play ball and he wasn't going to be distracted no matter how attractive he found her.

"Well, why are you all dressed up? Don't tell me this is all for me," Seto smirked and made his way across the shop. He never broke his eye contact with her; he needed to be the one in power.

"Pft. Don't think yourself so special," Blue countered and turned her nose up at him. "Not that it is any of your business, but I am meeting someone later and I wouldn't have time to change."

Seto felt a hot ball of jealousy spring up in his chest. Little did he know, Blue was lying through her teeth. In all honesty, she had been coming to work dressed like this for days; just to catch him off guard.

"Well, I hate to hold you up. Here," Seto growled low and thrust another tablet into her hands. Blue looked down at the darkened screen and then turned flirty eyes on him.

"Is there porn on this one, too?" Oh, she was good.

"No," Seto replied with a splash of snark and took his own seat. "Actually, it looks like the operating system might have a bug."

"Oh?" Blue's act dropped in an instant, her curiosity peaked by this new challenge. She plugged the tablet in and clicked open her administration program. Seto watched as she instantly fell into her own thoughts. He could practically see the gears turning behind her eyes as she quickly scanned through the readouts on her screen; and, to him, that was probably the sexiest thing he had ever seen.

"There," Seto piped up and pointed to the screen. "It keeps glitching when you access the settings menu."

"Yeah, I see what you mean." Blue replied with a small grin. She promptly opened another window which instantly filled with lines of code. After a few minutes of searching, it was Blue's turn to point to the screen.

"There is your bug. Looks like a mistake in the control flow. Probably caused by a trojan or something." Seto cast the girl a sideways glance as her fingers continued to work across the keys. "To be safe," Blue continued, "I'm gonna wipe the drive and reboot with the last backup. Shouldn't be too long."

"I think you just set a record," Seto remarked from her side. Blue let out a soft laugh, clearly a little giddy.

"Yeah, you should have timed me." Blue gave the man a smile which could almost be called sweet. Seto felt his own mouth quirk up at the corners. The computer gave off a chirp and both turned to see that Blue had a new email. Seto couldn't see the contents of the correspondence but the subject was enough to give him exactly what he needed.

"Oh, that's right. You're presenting at the Tokyo Tech Expo," Seto said, trying to appear nonchalant. Blue decided to play along.

"Mm-hm," she replied and fiddled with a long lock of her hair. Seto's eyes unwillingly locked on her finger as it twined the strand around itself. "Actually, I meant to tell you, I won't be back in until after the expo. So, you'll have to take all your 'repairs' to your actual employees."

"Too bad. You can repair my tech better than most of them," Seto said and leaned on his hand, grinning. Although what he said was true, Seto was mostly trying to butter Blue up. This was gonna be his last shot at a sneak peek of her project. "Ya know, I can take a look at your presentation, if you want."

"No, thanks." And...shot down. Seto's grin slipped away as Blue turned a knowing look on him.

"And here I was thinking I get special treatment," Seto pouted, playing his part. Internally, he was screaming. He had to see what she was working on!

"Have I charged you even once?" Blue deadpanned as she unhooked the now repaired tablet and handed it off. "If you wanna see what I've been working on, you'll just have to come to the expo."

Seto took the tablet and tossed it into his briefcase. He had to think of some reason for Blue to show him her project. If it was as good as he thought it would be, waiting for the expo would make it too late for Kaiba Corp to snap it up. He needed more time but Blue had already said she wouldn't be into work before the expo. He had to think of something!

"Blue?" Seto asked as an idea formed in his head.

"Yes?" she asked, tone sugary sweet and those blue eyes teasing him. She knew exactly what she was doing.

"Since you won't be here until the expo…" Seto led off, looking away. Even though he felt like he was simply playing a game with this girl, his next question was still kind of embarrassing. "...shouldn't I get your number? In case I have an emergency repair."

Seto glanced down, fighting back his own wave of nerves, to see that Blue had gone wide eyed and a tiny blush had lit up her cheeks. Clearing her throat, Blue looked away from his piercing gaze and plucked a business card from a drawer on her left.

"Just make sure it's an actual emergency, Kaiba," she bit out as she scribbled an extra number on the back and held the card out to him. Seto grinned and plucked the card from her fingers.

"Of course. I'll see ya later," he quipped and waltzed out of the shop, triumphant.

* * *

Four days later, Seto realized he was royally screwed. There he was, sitting at his desk at the top of Kaiba Corp. headquarters, the seat of the most powerful man in the world; he had never felt so helpless.

 _What the hell is wrong with me? I've talked to her dozens of times. So, why can't I dial the damn phone?!_

Seto didn't want to admit it but he had never called a girl before. Well, not a girl he found in any way attractive; and Blue was indeed attractive. Not just because of the tantalizing outfit she had donned on their last meeting but also her brazen intelligence. She wasn't just knowledgeable about computers and technology; Blue could keep up with his witty banter and even dish out some of her own. Time spent in her company was like a challenging match of chess with a more than worthy opponent.

But, damn it, Seto had to know what she was presenting before the expo!

Filled with the drive of bettering Kaiba Corp. at any cost, Seto picked up the receiver and punched in the scrawled digits on the back of Blue's business card. After the first two rings, however, Seto felt panic seep in. What if she answered? What the hell was he going to ask her? Did he even have something for her to work on? Damn it, he was gonna have to wing it-

 _"You've reached Blue's phone. I'm busy at the moment so leave a message."_ Kaiba was almost relieved Blue hadn't answered her phone but after the beep signaled him to leave a message, all his wits suddenly left him.

"Blue! Hi!...Uh, it's me- I mean, Kaiba...Seto Kaiba...yeah, I-uh...I wanted to see- well, I have a...thing I...need you to look at." God, he was blowing this. "Just call me back," Kaiba hurriedly added and slammed down the phone, his cheeks blazing red. He was screwed; he was so screwed.

* * *

Blue slid her lab door shut and stretched her arms over her head, letting out a massive yawn. She was finally, completely, 1000% finished with her presentation for the tech expo and the girl felt like she could sleep for a week. Blue let her hair down from her ponytail as the elevator lifted her to the fourth floor and towards her apartment. Running her fingers through the knots, Blue sighed and gave herself a small smile. All of her hard work was going to pay off soon.

"Hey, Blue!" Serenity called from the kitchen, hearing her roommate enter their home. "I just finished dinner."

"Smells good, See-See." Serenity smiled to herself at the nickname.

"Someone is in a good mood. Did you finish your presentation?" Blue nodded as she entered the kitchen, peering into the pots on the stove. Spaghetti noodles swirled in their starchy water and the marinara sauce simmered next to it.

"Yep. I am completely prepared," Blue smiled softly as Serenity handed her a plate. "All I have left now is to get some sleep."

"That's great!" Serenity cheered sweetly. "Oh! I charged your phone. It looks like you have a few messages."

"Thanks," Blue mumbled around a mouthful of noodles. Setting her plate on the counter, she plucked the phone from its charging cradle. Placing the speaker to her ear, she listened through the messages, taking bites of food as they played.

Three messages from Pegasus, two from Serenity's mother, and, finally, one from Seto Kaiba.

 _"Blue! Hi!...Uh, it's me- I mean, Kaiba-"_ Blue sputtered as the message played, half chewed noodles flying from her lips. The girl coughed violently as the message continued to play in her ear.

"Blue? You ok?" Serenity asked worriedly but Blue just waved her off and attempted to regain her composure. Kaiba had actually called her? And she had screened him! She could feel her cheeks blazing at the idea that the CEO had called her and his message…

"Oh, my god," Blue muttered, wiping her chin with the back of her arm.

"What?" Serenity asked innocently, missing Blue's reddened cheeks as Blue grabbed up her plate and bolted for her room.

"Nothing at all, thanks for the food, g'night!" Blue rattled off before bolting to her room and slamming the door. Serenity blinked and let her helping of noodles splatter onto her plate.

In her room, Blue was pacing and tapping her phone to her chin. Should she call him back? What could he want? Quickly, Blue tapped her phone and pressed it against her ear again. Kaiba's message began to replay.

Blue felt her heart rate pick up as the CEO's voice drifted through her speaker and, even though she didn't think it possible, her cheeks grew even redder. He sounded so nervous and...cute. Horrified, Blue tossed her phone onto her bed, barely missing her plate of spaghetti. What was she thinking?! She did _not_ think Seto Kaiba was cute. No, far from it.

"Get ahold of yourself!" Blue chastised, tugging at her long hair with a groan. "He's just calling for you to fix something or other for free again." Blue paced her floor again, flustered. What was she going to do? Blue glared at her phone, glowing against her bed sheets. She was being ridiculous.

Blue stepped up onto her bed and flopped down cross legged, pulling her plate into her lap. She wasn't going to do anything. She had the tech expo in just two days. Whatever Seto Kaiba wanted from her could wait.

* * *

 _Author's note: Oh my gosh, you guys. I have not written so much for this story in months! But it feels so good to work on this again. :) please leave a review and I will be updating again soon. Thanks for reading and stay lovely!  
_


	7. Chapter 7

The day of the Tokyo Tech Expo had finally arrived. Young inventors and small technology companies from all across Japan had gathered together under one roof to show off their latest inventions and programs, many with the hopes of being head hunted by a major corporation. This was make-it-or-bust for a lot of aspiring technology and their creators but it was also a great opportunity for the bigger companies to find their next big ticket product or game. Representatives from Industrial Illusions and the Schroeder Corporation were tooling about the event's main concourse, each looking to snap up whatever was being peddled at the different booths in hopes of out-profiting the other companies.

It was on this raucous floor that we find our beloved Seto Kaiba. The CEO had donned his favored white trench and black ensemble for today's events; plus, a rather sour expression. Anyone not in the know would have simply dismissed his displeasure as typical behavior for the cold hearted businessman, but Seto's attitude was due almost entirely to the action, or rather inaction, of one girl.

 _Can't believe she didn't call me back,_ Seto snapped inwardly. _It had to be that stupid message I left! Damn it!_

Roland trailed behind his grumbling employer, completely unaware of the inner chastising Seto was giving himself. The bodyguard had noticed the younger man's significantly short tempered mood grow worse and worse over the past few days but he wasn't entirely sure. Gulping, Roland stepped up to his boss's side.

"Uh, Mr. Kaiba, sir?"

"What?!" Roland jumped at the biting tone but continued on.

"Sir!" Roland straightened to attention. "You asked me to alert you to the presentation schedule, sir. Um...Ms. Blue should be-"

"Let's go," Seto interrupted and turned on his heel, creating a path through the crowds by his imposing stature alone. Roland scurried to keep up as Seto glided into the large hall where all the inventors who didn't have a booth would have a set time to present their projects.

"Seto! Over here!" Mokuba shouted as he spotted his brother enter. The younger Kaiba had been watching all the presentations while Seto walked about, both supposed to be looking for new ideas for Kaiba Corp. The event coordinators had gone so far as to set up reserved seats towards the front of the stage for the heads and representatives of the major companies; including Ziegfried von Schroder.

"Ah, Herr Kaiba," Ziegfried greeted snidely as Seto strolled past. "My sincerest apologies."

"For what, Schroeder?" Seto deadpanned and stopped to shoot the flamboyant man a glare.

"Why, for taking all the best products for my company of course," Ziegfried continued with a flip of his hair. "We've already bought out most of the inventions in the concourse and I saw that Industrial Illusions has been doing the same. It appears that Kaiba Corporation has been left in the dust, however. How sad."

"Well, that's typical of you, Schroeder," Seto retorted, smirking. "You have mistaken our inaction for standing still. Really, though," Seto cast a glittering blue-eyed gaze on the now fuming, pink haired duelist, "...I am merely lying in wait."

Seto saunter on to his seat, leaving Ziegfried blustering in his chair. He had to admit: putting that ridiculously dressed idiot in his place had made him feel just the tiniest bit better.

"Ziegfried and Pegasus sure have been busy today, Seto," Mokuba reported as his big brother settled into his chair.

"Don't worry, Mokuba. Even though some of these products are pretty good, Pegasus and Ziegfried don't have the resources we do," Seto placated and glanced down at his phone. He growled and shoved the device back in his coat pocket when he noticed he had no missed calls.

"Your attention please," a disembodied voice chimed from above. "The next presenter is now taking the stage: Ms. Yuki, presenter number 826."

The lights in the hall dimmed and a group towards the back began cheering.

"Yeah, go Blue! Show 'em what ya got!" Seto turned around to see Joey Wheeler standing on his chair, pumping his fist in the air as he shouted. Yugi and Serenity were trying to get him to sit back down and be quiet.

 _Looks like Yugi and his geek squad will play cheerleader for just about anyone,_ Seto thought and turned back to the stage to see Blue coming from the wings. Her black heels clicked as she crossed to center stage and faced the audience. She looked professional in her black pencil skirt and light blue button down blouse; her long hair was braided carefully and hung over one shoulder.

"Good afternoon. My name is Blue Yuki and I am the solo developer of BLU Tech apps," Blue said with a smile and the screen behind her lit up with a logo reading BLU Tech, the letter 'B' shaped as though the long line was a bolt of lightning. Seto instantly recognized the insignia from the business card he currently had in his pocket.

"With the recent rise of smartphones and tablets in the technology industry, developers have taken the power of a personal computer and put it in the hands of millions of individuals," Blue continued and the screen behind her changed to show several models of smart devices. "However, while these devices are somewhat customizable, they all lack one major component."

The crowd tittered as Blue paused, her blue eyes shrewdly taking in the reactions.

"Attitude," Blue supplied and the room fell silent. "Sure, we have phones with vocal features like 'Siri' for Apple or 'Alexa' for the Echo but these are cheap attempts to create a personality within your device.

"But, what if, when you interacted with your device it truly responded? Not just vocally but with movement?" Blue grinned and the screen behind her dimmed as a stagehand wheeled a cart with a black box up to the girl's side.

"What I am talking about is a perfect mixture of robotics, programming, and artificial intelligence." Seto moved to the edge of his seat as Blue opened the lid and leaned one hand on the lip of the box.

"Ladie and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to something that puts the 'personal' in personal computer. Come on out," Blue ordered and glanced down into the box. The crowd looked on with bated breath as a something truly incredible poked it's head over the top of the box.

Whispers and murmurs broke out as a sleek, shining, white dragon, no bigger than a small cat, climbed from the box and made it's way up Blue's arm before settling on her shoulder, its little wings stretching out from its compact body and the pupiless blue "eyes" looking about.

"This is lil-Blue, the world's first PersaComm. Lil-Blue, say hello to the audience."

 _"Hello, audience,"_ came the tinkling metallic voice from the tiny replica of the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

At the sound of the voice, the room erupted into cheers and yelled questions. Everyone had to know more about this wonder of technology, this truly innovative creation. Seto Kaiba, however, had been stunned into silence. It was too much for him to see girl and beast standing together, even though this particular dragon was a miniature mechanical creation and not a spirit monster. As he stared wide eyed up at Blue and her invention, only one thought could break through his amazement.

 _Kisara...do you remember?_

* * *

The remainder of Blue's presentation all but cemented her invention in the top spot for not only the most impressive but the most sought after. The moment she had finished and moved to the stairs to enter the audience, lil-Blue still perched across her shoulders, Seto was out of his seat and moving towards her. Unfortunately, so was every other potential buyer in the crowd.

Seto felt himself be jostled as Joey Wheeler ran past but somehow he couldn't find an angry word to lash out at the blonde with. Instead, he followed in the duelist's wake.

"Blue, that was awesome! You did it!" Joey cheered and broke into the crowd around the girl, deterring her attention from several other interested investors. As she cast a half-hearted glare at the boy's intrusion, her eyes caught Seto's from beyond Joey's shoulder. While their eyes were locked, Blue and Seto both missed Joey reaching out a finger to prod the miniature dragon on the girl's shoulder.

"Hey, you're pretty cute all teeny-tiny like that," Joey cooed. His sweet words were dismissed by the PersaComm and it's little "teeth" snapped out at the finger, causing Joey to jump back in surprise.

"The hell, Blue?! It bit me!" Seto couldn't help himself; he let out a rough laugh, surprising several onlookers, and stepped up to address the creator.

"You programmed it to snap at people as a defense mechanism? Now, that is clever."

"I thought it was a nice touch," Blue grinned and reached up a hand to let the dragon lean against, almost like she was petting it. "I take it you enjoyed the presentation?"

"Obviously. You have created something completely unheard of," Seto commented and took in the device up close. At this distance he could make out all the intricate pieces of the outer body, how they seamlessly glided against one another so the "creature" could move gracefully. "You've completely changed the game."

"I'll say!" Ziegfried was suddenly on Seto's left and pushing his way into Blue's line of sight. " , I am Ziegfried von Schroeder of the Schroeder Corporation and I would be very interested in buying your invention. And, please, do believe me when I say that money is objection."

"Whatever he offers, I can pay triple," Seto instantly countered, his eyes icing over. There was no way anyone was walking out of this hall with Blue's invention but him!

"What makes you think you can afford that, Herr Kaiba?" Ziegfried bit back.

"Didn't you say you had bought up a bunch of other inventions today?" Seto retorted smartly and Ziegfried floundered. Seto had him cornered there.

"Well, I simply must throw my hat into this ring!" Now, Pegasus had entered the fray. The eccentric man came up on Seto's right, smiling fondly. "Now, Blue, whatever these boys are offering to pay, I can certainly do you one better."

"And how is that, Pegasus?" Blue asked, grinning slyly as she watched the three men looking wildly to one another. She was clearly enjoying the bidding war she had incited among these captains of industry.

"How about I hire you on as my lead programmer? Your salary will be anything you ask, plus I can pay for all your moving expenses to San Francisco. " It was an incredible offer from the Duel Monsters creator but Seto Kaiba wasn't one to be beat.

"Hmph. What a weak offer, Pegasus. I was honestly expecting a little more from you," Seto said and crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk. "With all the troubles you have with product development, Blue would spend all her time fixing your already sub par products."

Seto opened his eyes and bore his gaze into Blue's, willing his next words to ring home with her.

"If you sign on with Kaiba Corp., I can give you complete control over development and production. Furthermore, I will throw all of our resources into this. The PersaComm will be our top priority."

Blue narrowed her eyes at Seto, seeming to study his face for any indication that he might not mean what he promised. After a heavy pause, filled to bursting with the tension between all parties, Blue grinned and stuck out her hand.

"You've got a deal, Kaiba."

Seto grinned as well and instantly reached out to cement the deal with a handshake. The moment their hands touched though, it was like lightning rocketed up Seto's arm, tingling and filling him with energy. The world seemed to fall away in that instant of contact and all that was left was him and Blue. Every thing he had been pushing away in the past few weeks came flooding back and he was bombarded with just how attractive Blue really was.

Blue felt it all, too. The lightning, the warmth and strength of his hand clasping her's, and suddenly every untoward thought she had ever had about Seto Kaiba flickered across her mind.

At these realizations, both people had the exact same thought regarding this attraction to the other: _Damn it._

All too soon, their grasp on the other was released and the cacophony of the crowd came crashing back in. Seto was the first to clear his throat and look away.

"We can finalize everything in a few days," Seto said as he thrust his cool facade back into place. "I'll call you."

"Sounds great," Blue replied and reached up to swipe a lock of rebellious hair from her face, only for her fingers to brush against lil-Blue in the process. Seto cast his eyes on her invention again, the little dragon watching him and twitching against Blue's raised hand. Seto forced a smirk on his face and turned away.

"See ya later." Seto glanced back as Blue quipped his usual departing words at him. Her blue eyes were glittering, adding a layer of smugness to the smile she offered up. It was written all over her face.

 _I win._

Seto departed without another word and the crowd fell back around Blue. Seto wasn't worried though. He knew enough about Blue's character to know that she wouldn't be making deals with anyone else.

She was his.

* * *

 _Author's note: Four chapters in two days...I need some sleep. Ha! Anyway, please review and another update will come. Thanks!  
_


	8. Chapter 8

_"Kisara…"_

 _It was just a whisper in the darkness but I heard it all the same. Someone calling for me but all I could see was a cloying darkness. It was like I was floating; no, I was falling. Falling back into a pair of warm arms while something cold pierced straight into my heart._

 _"Kisara! Please wake up!"_

 _I could feel someone, a man judging by the voice, jostling me lightly by the shoulders. My eyes creaked open only to be blinded by a scorching sun. A whimper escaped my lips as the cold in my chest began to crawl outwards, enveloping me in a chilling grasp._

 _"Kisara...I'm sorry."_

 _I felt myself be pulled against a chest and I tried to burrow myself into the warmth it offered, fisting a rough fabric between my fingers. I felt the ice inside now and it was pulling at something deep inside me, almost like it was trying to rip my very soul apart. I tried to open my eyes again and this time the sun was more bearable._

 _I had my head laid against someone's shoulder and I could see my hand, coated in sticky red blood (was it mine?), staining a blue tunic. Whoever it was, their chest was hitching as they tried to hold back from crying out._

 _Had it not been for the horrific chill eating away at me, I would have felt content to stay in these arms forever. I couldn't remember a time I had ever been held this way: treasured, valued,...loved._

 _"Kisara…"_

 _That name, my real name, came out a whisper this time. When was that last time I had heard anyone call me that? I couldn't remember. Who was this person? Who was holding me so tightly that it almost hurt? Who was calling me by a name I had chosen to stash away deep within the recesses of my heart?_

 _I turned my head up and almost gasped at the tear stained face above me._

 _Kaiba?_

 _No, he looked...wrong. He was too tan and there were scratches on his face, like he had been fighting. But, it also was him. I could recognize those eyes, so close in shade to my own, anywhere._

 _I reached my hand up to touch his cheek, leaving a smear of blood across his tan skin._

 _Kaiba...No…_

 _Seto._

 _He smiled at me, just a small turning up at the corners of his mouth. A tear dripped down his chin._

 _I opened my mouth to ask him what was happening, where we were, but suddenly, I felt_ _ **it**_ _happen. Everything went black, Seto's face vanishing in a wisp, as I felt my heart, my very soul, being ripped in two._

 _I cried out but it wasn't my voice. This shriek wasn't anything a human could produce. It was the peeling cry of a beast, a monster..._

* * *

Blue shot awake so suddenly that she lost her balance and came toppling off her stool, flailing backwards and smacking harshly into the hard floor of her lab.

"Son of a-...ow…" Blue whimpered as she cradled her smarting head. The pain from so forcefully smacking her noggin' on the cement floor had instantly overtaken the pain of being "ripped apart" in her dream.

"Blue?" The girl peeked an eye up at her work surface where lil-Blue was watching her, it's tiny dragon head tilted to one side.

"You've fallen," the little robot remarked.

"At least I know your optical sensors are working," Blue muttered and pulled herself up off the floor. She leaned against the counter and probed at the growing bump on the back of her head, hissing in pain.

"You were dreaming," Lil-Blue continued. "Judging by your violent awakening, it was not pleasant."

"You could say that." Blue righted her stool and regained her seat. "The word you are looking for is 'nightmare.'"

"Nightmare," repeated Lil-Blue. "I have logged that term into my vernacular database. Please, elaborate on the social concept of the 'nightmare'."

Blue smirked and looked down at her little creation. The artificial learning software she had installed was doing it's job. Lil-Blue was asking questions to make their communication more natural.

"A nightmare is a really scary dream," Blue explained and picked up the components she had been working on before she had lazily fallen asleep.

"Do all nightmares wake the dreamer so harshly?"

"Not all the time," Blue acquiesced, shivering involuntarily as a wisp of her dream creeped across her mind; an echo of pain.

"Are you chilly?" Lil-Blue asked, sitting back on it's back legs and flexing it's wings. "The current temperature is sixty degrees Fahrenheit."

"It's nothing," Blue shrugged and tapped into her keyboard, looking to the screen bank for the answer to some silent question. Suddenly, Lil-Blue gave off a chirp, like a ring tone.

"Blue, you have an email from Seto Kaiba."

Blue stiffened at the name and an image of the young man's face, the one from her dream, lit up in her mind's eye. Her heart started pounding as the dream memory of his arms around her, the way he called to her, replayed in her head.

"Would you like me to open the email?" Lil-Blue interrupted the girl's racing thoughts and Blue shook off the conflicting feelings she suddenly felt.

"Yeah, pull it up."

Lil-Blue's eyes began to glow and a holographic screen appeared from the projectors set in the sockets. Blue swept a lock of snowy hair from her eyes and peered close at the blue screen floating in mid-air. A small envelope icon glowed in the center. The flap flipped open and a letter came out, filling the screen.

 _Blue,_

 _You have to be the most demanding developer I have ever hired. If you seriously think you can work for me, keep up your app updates,_ _and_ _make repairs for Duke Devlin, you are a fool. However, I relish the idea of getting to tell you "I told you so,"; so, I have graciously decided to allow your request. (You're welcome.)_

 _See you at 11 o'clock sharp._

 _-SK_

 _P.S. I found a bug on Duel Stats. It is quite irksome, so fix it._

Blue growled as she finished reading the email and slammed her fist onto her table top. Forget her stupid dream and any other ridiculous thoughts of Seto Kaiba's dumb face!

"Lil-Blue!" she snapped and sat back down, taking up the pieces she had been working with and starting anew. "Reply to Seto Kaiba: "I've found the glitch and fixed it. Download goes live in twenty. See you tomorrow."

"Is that all you wish to send?" Lil-Blue chimed and the holo-screen changed to show her reply in text format. Blue grinned.

"P.S. Get ready to eat those words. I can do anything. Send." Lil-Blue let out another chirp.

"Email sent." Blue let out a triumphant giggle as she continued to fiddle with her latest task. It wasn't long until Lil-Blue gave out another chirp.

"A reply from Seto Kaiba." Blue pursed her lips and turned to the dragon.

"Go ahead." The screen glowed to life again and a new email popped up.

 _Go to bed, you brat._

 _-SK_

Oh, that jerk. He wasn't get the last word though. Not now or ever.

"Reply: insert image from GIF library," Blue ordered and the screen changed to show a grid of moving images. Finally finding the one she wanted, Blue extended her finger and selected the image on the holo-screen.

"Is that all you wish to send?" Blue snickered to herself and turned back to her work.

"Send."

* * *

At 10:56, sharp, Seto Kaiba strode into the largest conference room in all of Kaiba Corp. headquarters. He was once again donning his white trench and black ensemble, the tails of his coat flaring out behind him. His legal counsel, a middle-aged man and his young protege, abruptly stood and bowed low when the CEO entered.

"Mr. Kaiba. Good morning, sir," the older man said and straightened as Seto took his seat. "I was just briefing young Takashi here on our meeting."

Seto cast the second attorney, a man older than himself by a mere handful of years, a bored look before taking out his phone.

"Yamada, I already told you that there is no need for you to be here. Blue has already signed all the appropriate paperwork," Seto said as he browsed through his emails, his eyes drifting back to his latest employee's last correspondence. A smirk ticked at the corner of his mouth as he opened it for the eighth time that morning. Her only reply to his snappy order to get some sleep was a GIF.

It was simple: an animated pot, it's little cartoon face contorted in chibi-rage, was screeching "BLACK!" and pointing at a cartoon kettle. Seto wasn't one for cartoons, but this was hilarious to him for some reason.

"Yes, sir, I understand that," Yamada replied, demure but confident. "However, I am concerned about the team selection this-" the man looked down and scanned his notepad, "...Miss Kisara Yuki has made. I don't think giving her complete control over the selection was wise. She has excluded all of our top programmers."

"What did you say?" Yamada looked up to see the most peculiar expression on his boss's face. Seto was no longer looking at the screen of his phone but, instead, had lifted his eyes just over the device. It didn't appear he was really seeing the tabletop in front of him though. His face was completely blank but every muscle in his body had gone rigid.

"The team selection for the PersaComm project, sir. She even dismissed Yagami, who has been lead programmer on -"

"No, you idiot," Seto hissed and his face snapped into a look of frustration. He turned a glare so icy on his lawyer that the old man balked at the intensity. The ferocious attack to come, however, was cut short as the conference room door clicked open. Seto jumped to his feet, his eyes widening, as the woman of the hour came strolling in.

"Good morning," Blue said politely and closed the door behind her. She looked right at home as she made her way across the room, heels clicking, and took her seat on Kaiba's free side. She was wearing that white button down, black tie, and pleated skirt ensemble again; Seto could feel his heart rate pick up the tiniest bit as she crossed her long legs at the knee.

"You're late," he snapped and took his seat again. Blue smirked and set her bag on the table, opening the flap.

"What time is it, Lil-Blue?" The little dragon popped it's head out of the bag, looking at it's master.

"It is, precisely, eleven am," the dragon chirped and pulled itself out of the tote to sit on the table. It's head swiveled right to land on Seto.

"Good morning, Seto Kaiba."

"It knows my name?" Seto asked, his earlier frustration melting away as he marveled at the astounding device he was soon to mass produce.

"I can recognize all one hundred and twenty five individuals saved in Blue's contacts," Lil-Blue supplied with a flex of it's wings. "Seto Kaiba, CEO and president of the Kaiba Corporation. Age twenty and contact priority is level five. Would you like to hear correspondence history?"

"Not now," Blue ordered and extended her hand so the robot could crawl up her arm and settle itself across her shoulders.

"Woah!" Blue and Seto both turned to Takashi, who had uttered the exclamation and was now blushing the attention he was receiving. Yamada shot the younger man a glare and settled into his seat.

"Miss Yuki, I-"

"Blue." Yamada's glare darkened at the girl's bored expression, but soldiered on.

"Blue," he enunciated, barely concealing his irritation, "I am Mr. Yamada, Mr. Kaiba's lead legal counsel."

"I believe I signed the last of your contracts. Did you not receive them?" Blue interjected.

"Yes, we did receive them. Thank you," Yamada replied, tacking on the polite 'thanks' as a formality. "My presence today is not in regards to your paperwork."

"Oh? I'm sorry, I thought this meeting was about the PersaComm project details."

"It is," Seto added and shot his lawyer an irritated look. "Yamada is only here because he has a question about the programmers you selected."

Blue's lips straightened into a thin line and she turned her icy stare on the older man, completely unfazed by him.

"Well, what is your question, then?" Yamada grinned and sat up straighter.

"Well, to put it simply, I think you might have overlooked some of our more reputable employees."

"I assure you, sir, that I did not." Yamada's grin tightened as he pulled a sheaf of paper from his briefcase.

"Well, I merely find it odd that you would not select some of our former lead programmers to work on such a complex project. Yagami, for example-"

"Mr. Yamada, do you know what a 'mount' is?" Blue cut in, silencing the lawyer with her clipped question. Slowly, she sat forward and steepled her fingers, resting her chin in her hands and scrutinizing the older man carefully. Yamada huffed and shuffled his papers fidgeting under her cool gaze.

"No, I-"

"What about an 'API'?"

"I can't say I do but-"

"How about a 'compiler' or a 'data dump'? Are any of these terms familiar to you?" Blue carried on. Yamada, the poor fool, began to flounder and looked to his boss, hoping that the CEO would step in and reason with this foolhardy girl. However, Seto was shooting the lawyer a grin, conveying that he, too, thought the lawyer had ended up in way over his head.

"I-I don't see why-"

"No, you don't," Blue, again, interrupted and sat back in her seat. "You, sir, do not know or understand even the very basics of computer programming and, therefore, do not have the privilege of any say on who I decide to add to the team on this project."

"Mr. Kaiba, surely you can agree that-"

"Yamada," the lawyer was cut off once again, this time by his boss. "It was spelled out in the contracts that Blue has final say over who is included on her team."

"Yes, sir, but-"

"If Yagami has such a problem on not being selected for this project, then he can come to me with his grievances. Now," Seto leveled his gaze on the lawyer and his silent assistance. "I believe you have wasted enough time here."

After years and years of courtroom deliberation, the wizened lawyer knew when his best chance was to fight another day. Slamming his documents back into his briefcase, Yamada stood and bowed to his boss respectfully before sweeping out of the conference room without a word to the girl who had so thoroughly schooled him.

"It was nice to meet you," Takashi said quickly as he bowed to both Seto and Blue before trailing out behind his superior. Once the door clicked closed, Blue shot Seto a bored look.

"Are all your lackeys so damned pushy?" Seto couldn't help the grin that slid across his face.

"Not with me but, then again," Seto leaned over and pressed a buzzer on the intercom, "I have dealt with them all long enough that they know better than to question me."

Blue didn't answer as the conference room door opened yet again. This time, however, instead of a disgruntled lawyer, in marched three young secretaries pushing carts. Two were laden with file boxes and the last…

"How do you like your coffee, miss?"

"Black is good, thank you," Blue said with a grin as she looked over the cart filled with coffee, teas, and an assortment of other beverages. "Feeling we'll be here a while, Kaiba?"

"You work for me now," Seto answered and stood to begin going through the first file box. "We aren't leaving this room until we have every last detail of this project laid out."

Blue picked up her steaming coffee, taking a hearty sip as the secretaries bowed to their boss and left as quickly as they had come. She took a moment to watch Seto over the top of her coffee cup, observing him carefully as he began looking over the first round of supplier lists they were meant to choose from.

 _I'm being ridiculous. It was just a stupid dream,_ Blue reasoned. Still, she couldn't shake the memory of the way the dream Seto had held her close and called her name. The thought brought a light blush to her cheeks and Blue silently berated herself, willing the feelings she had to vanish entirely. _He's your boss now, dummy. Stop being so freakin' stupid!_

"Blue." The girl jumped out of her thoughts and looked up at the frowning CEO. "Stop the daydreaming and get over here. We've got work to do."

Blue nodded, set down her cup, and made her way to Seto's side. Taking the offered folder, she listened intently as he began telling her about the different processors offered to them from the Otori group for use in the PersaComms. She had come too far to ruin her shot at having the PersaComm produced to lose it over some irritating crush. Dream or no dream, Blue was here to work.

* * *

Come seven o'clock, the conference room table was filled from end to end with all the choices for every last piece of machinery, wiring, and computer components that would be put into ordered and used for production of the PersaComms. Sighing, Blue downed the last few gulps of her eighth cup of coffee and sank into a chair.

"This looks like something a serial killer would have laid out," she commented as she looked over the table, silently impressed with just how much she and Seto had gotten done today.

"In a way, that's a compliment," Seto remarked with a chuckle and took the chair next to Blue. "It shows dedication."

Blue let out her own soft chuckle and reached up to softly pat Lil-Blue, who had been perched silently on her shoulder throughout the entire day. Seto watched her silently for a moment from the side of his eye before posing a question that had been nagging at him since the Expo.

"Blue, let me ask you something." The girl looked to him, eyes wide as she wondered what he could want. "Why did you make your demo PersaComm in the shape of the Blue Eyes White Dragon?"

"Because I wanted to catch your attention at the Expo," Blue replied smugly, grinning. "Honestly, I had been planning to use the Blue Eyes design from the beginning. It just so happened that Joey brought you by my house before it was done." Seto nodded, his mind drifting back to the occasion of his and Blue's first meeting. Something still bothered him though.

"Well, if that's the reason, why not just show it to me all those times I came to the arcade? You had plenty of opportunities." Seto countered but Blue just tsked and wagged her finger at him.

"If I had shown you Lil-Blue outside the Expo, you would have just wanted to buy the PersaComm tech instead of letting me work for you. I knew that if I used the Tech Expo, I could not only get a contract but also drive up the price. Supply and demand is the first principal of economics, right?"

Seto was dumbfounded. Blue had been carefully maneuvering around him for months and he was just now understanding how far out she had made her plans. Her business acumen was impressive.

"Well, looks like we have done all we can for today," Blue said and stood, stretching her arms over head. Lil-Blue shifted to stay seated, wrapping its tail across her collarbone. The robot's small movement seemed to remind Blue of something and the girl walked quickly around the table to take up her bag.

"Oh, yeah. Since our contract is officially cemented and we've started on the project," Bule walked back to the still seated Seto. "This is for you."

Blue retracted her hand from her bag, clutching a second Blue Eyes White Dragon PersaComm; this one was folded upon itself compactly with its head tucked beneath a wing, but it still glittered a pearly bluish-white, just like Lil-Blue. Smiling, she held the device out to him and Seto gently took the device, turning it deftly in search of the power button.

"Here," Blue supplied and pointed to the second vertebra behind the dragon's neck. Mesmerized, Seto gently pushed the piece in with his index finger. A chiming riff sounded from the PersaComm and the robot lifted its head, the blue eyes lighting up as it booted up.

"Please say your name to register user." Seto sat mesmerized for a moment, staring at the creature in his palms. It wasn't until Blue nudged his shoulder gently that he finally spoke.

"Seto Kaiba." The PersaComm took a moment to register his words but then flexed its wings.

"User recognized. Hello, Seto Kaiba."

"You can adjust all your settings and set up a name for it by asking for the main menu," Blue supplied, earning a look from the still amazed CEO.

"Have you had two this entire time?" Seto blurted as thoughts of either robot falling into the wrong hands suddenly plagued him. Thankfully, Blue put his fears to rest.

"No. I made yours last night. It was a lot easier the second time since I just made a copy of mine," Blue said with a slight laugh. "Also, I wanted to start developing the software for Comm-to-Comm interaction."

Seto blinked and looked back down at his, and it really was his, Blue Eyes White Dragon sitting so neatly in his hands. He was overcome with so much awe that his next words slipped out without his really thinking.

"Thank you, Kisara."

After a long moment lacking a smart reply or witty comeback, Seto looked up into Blue's face. He had expected to see a confident smirk and sparkling eyes; the reality of her furrowed brow, eyes dark with confusion and a touch of barely concealed shock, was rather surprising.

"What did you call me?" Seto couldn't come up with a reply fast enough. Blue set her mouth in a stern line and stepped around him, heading for the door.

"We are hardly at the level of acquaintance for you to be using my first name," Blue growled and glared over her shoulder, distrust emanating from her. "How did you even know that?"

"It was on your contract," he said quickly before he could stick his foot in his mouth again. The last thing he needed to say at this moment was any nonsense regarding ancient Egypt. Seto couldn't help but notice the slight shift in Blue's gaze, from anger to almost disappointment, the moment those words had processed with her.

"Let's just stick to 'Blue'," she muttered and finally turned away. "See you tomorrow, Kaiba."

And she was gone, the conference room door slamming behind her. Seto sat staring at the door for a long minute, thinking hard about the emotion that had come over her face as he said where he knew her name from. It was only the shifting of his own PersaComm as it twitched in his hands that brought him back to reality.

Sighing, Seto lifted the small dragon to his shoulder and let it settle there before he picked himself up. It was late and he needed to get home to Mokuba. However, the weight of his dragon sitting on his shoulder would keep bringing him back to thoughts of Blue, and her odd reaction to his saying her real name, well into the next day.

* * *

 _Author's note: This. Was. The longest. Chapter. Ever. To write. But, it's done! Ah! Finally! :D Please leave a review. Even just a "Hey, your story isn't complete crap" would be so nice to see. Next chapter coming soon!  
_


	9. Chapter 9

For once in his life, Seto Kaiba was completely stumped. After hours and hours of pondering and thinking, letting one question roll around in his brain non-stop, he was on the verge of admitting an unwilling defeat. Growling, the CEO pinched the bridge of his nose before looking down at the little dragon next to his computer mouse. The PersaComm turned its eyes from the screen, where it had appeared to be watching Seto work, and looked up at him.

"I have no idea what to call you," Seto finally admitted, a little irritated with himself. The dragon flexed its wings and spoke.

"You can personalize my name to anything you like."

"Yes, you've said that already," Seto grumbled and sat back in his chair, looking up as if the ceiling of his home office would somehow have all the answers.

 _I'll just clear my mind and go with the first name I think of,_ Seto reasoned and took a deep breath as he closed his navy eyes. Slowly, Seto let his mind settle so his thoughts could begin to drift around the periphery of his consciousness. He had picked up this method of meditation not long after he had taken over Kaiba Corp. He found that if he could distance himself from his often racing thoughts, especially when he was facing a rather challenging problem, he could actually work through the issue with more clarity. Seto relaxed into his seat and watched his thoughts circle by him, like fallen leaves on a placid lake, with the eye of his mind. Once he felt that he could pull a thought to himself without losing himself in it, he called out for an idea of a name.

Suddenly, the last face he was expecting appeared before him. Long white hair, sparkling blue eyes set into a pale but intelligent face: Kisara. Or, was it Blue? Was there a difference anymore?

"Well, that was no damned help," Seto groaned as he came back to himself, rubbing the heels of his hands into his eyes. He couldn't very well walk around calling his PersaComm after his new employee.

 _Even if she doesn't like being called by her actual name,_ he tagged on as an afterthought. _Why is that, I wonder._

"Seto?" He looked to the door as it creaked open and Mokuba poked his head in. "You ok, big brother?"

"Of course I am," Seto replied and waved Mokuba into his office. The younger Kaiba carefully shut the door behind him and approached the large desk. His gray eyes lit up as he spotted the PersaComm sitting by his brother's hand.

"Wow! Did Blue let you borrow it?" Mokuba gushed as he peered closely at the device. The PersaComm cocked its head to the side as it watched the dark haired youth carefully.

"No, this one is mine."

"Really? That's so cool!" Mokuba continued. "What's its name?"

"That's just the thing. I can't decide on one," Seto sighed and propped his elbow on the desktop so he could lean against his hand, watching his dragon carefully. Mokuba, intent on helping his brother out, pursed his lips in thought as he wracked his brain for a name that would do the tiny Blue Eyes White Dragon justice.

"Oh! I've got the answer, Seto," Mokuba suddenly exclaimed with a smile. "I'll be right back!"

Mokuba ran from the room and returned a few moments later with a large, coffee table book. Triumphantly, he handed the tome over with both hands, grinning.

"Gods of the Ancient World?" Seto read from the cover where an artist's rendering of Zeus, the King of Olympus, battled Thor, the norse god of thunder.

"Yeah, there are all kinds of awesome stories and some really cool names to pick from." Touched by his brother's willingness to help, Seto cast the younger boy a rare smile and tousled his hair fondly.

"Thanks, little brother."

Mokuba continued to grin as he swatted Seto's hand away from his head and attempted to flatten his hair back into some semblance of order. Having found a possible answer to his brother's debacle, Mokuba let out a yawn and stretched his arms overhead, feeling the late hour.

"You should go to bed," Seto said and stood to usher his younger sibling to bed. Mokuba, suddenly feeling just how tired he was, decided not to argue.

"Ok. G'night, Seto."

"Goodnight," Seto replied and walked Mokuba to his office door before shutting it behind him. Allowing himself a small stretch of his arms, Seto settled himself back at his desk and opened the book so thoughtfully given to him.

"Oh, hell no," he instantly snarled at the first chapter title: Ra, Horus, and the Gods of Ancient Egypt. Refusing to entertain any foray into the world of deities for pharaohs and mummies, Seto skipped forward to the next chapter.

 _'The Mighty Gods of Olympus and other Minor Deities,'_ Seto read and began flipping through the chapter. He dismissed the more recognizable names, like Zeus and Athena, deciding that naming his PersaComm after one of the twelve major gods would be a little pretentious, even for him. Page after page, he continued to mentally cross off one name after another until he stumbled across the perfect minor god to name his dragon after.

In the upper corner of one of the last pages was another artistic rendering, the style identical to the cover art. The subject appeared as a lovely young woman with long light hair. She was dressed in armor with a sword clutched in one hand, standing in profile to show off a noble silhouette. The most outstanding part of her form, however, were the expansive white wings coming from her back.

"The Winged Goddess of Victory?," Seto murmured, reading the caption beneath the image and quickly scanning the short bio on the mythological being. It was perfect; what was his Blue Eyes to him but a sigil of pride and his means of victory in any battle? Grinning, Seto turned to his mini dragon, which was watching him silently.

"I have a name for you." The little beast cocked its head to one side, to show it was listening and ready to log whatever data he was to offer.

"I'm going to call you...Nike."

* * *

The next morning, Seto settled into the back of his limo, ready to head into the office and get some much needed work accomplished. It was only a few minutes into his ride when his PersaComm popped its head out of from beneath the collar of his coat with a chirp.

"You have an email from Blue," the dragon said as its eyes glowed and the holoscreen appeared floating before Seto's face. Silently, he scanned the message.

"Looks like she has an update for your operating system," he remarked and swiped his finger along the bottom of the hologram to close the screen. What Blue had accomplished with his holographic technology was still impressive to him. She had actually been able to create a program that could register the movements of the user in order to manipulate the screen as if it was real. Ingenious.

"Do you want to reply?"

"No," Seto replied absently as his mind turned to thoughts of Blue and their time spent together the day before. While they had achieved a lot, the day had almost passed in a blur. Seto mentally berated himself as he remembered the way his attention had drifted from the task at hand to watch Blue throughout the day. It was surreal how he could become completely captivated when she spoke to him, asking questions about a supplier's product or commenting on changes they could make to the designs in order to better the PersaComm technology for production. However, as Seto let his mind swim through his memories of the previous day, he slowly began to focus less on Blue's intelligence and creativity and more on how amazing her legs had looked in her short skirt.

 _Oh, no. Don't go down that road,_ Seto growled to himself and willed the lusty thoughts from his head. He could not start thinking about Blue like this. She was his employee, for God's sake!

As the car pulled up the curb outside KCHQ and Seto climbed out, the CEO came to a decision.

 _I'll have to distance myself from her until all these ridiculous feelings disappear,_ he thought and crossed the busy lobby, ignoring the greetings and bows from his staff as he passed, before entering the far elevator. He swiped his entry card in the slot and punched the button for the R &D department, mentally preparing himself to face the girl who had invaded his mind so fully.

Seto Kaiba was ready. This was the man who had stared down the Egyptian God cards on multiple occasions and faced many battles only to come out on top. He could do this!

"Oh, good; you got my email," Blue said as he came through the door of the lab she had selected to work in for the duration of the PersaComm production. She glanced over her shoulder at him from where she stood leaning over her work space, her long hair pulled back in a high ponytail and those incredible legs on display once again beneath another damned skirt.

 _Oh...fuck me…_ , Seto growled to himself as he fought off the irritating sensation in the pit of his stomach. Steeling himself, he strolled forward and let Nike trail down his arm to sit on the desk.

"Yes, I got it. Just do what you need so I can go. I have work to do." Blue's grin slipped from her face as she pulled a cord from her modem, where Lil-Blue was currently hooked up, and slid the end into a port under the second dragon's wing.

"Alright, geez. This'll only take a few minutes," she muttered and tapped a few keys to start the download. "What has you so irate this morning?"

Damn it, of course she would notice. Seto couldn't tell her that the problem was with his growing physical attraction to her.

"It's nothing," Seto said instead, deciding to go for the brush off and a change of subject. "What updates did you make?"

Blue pursed her lips, knowing that her boss was hiding something. She eyed him for a moment before turning back to her computers.

"I finished the basic Comm-to-Comm interaction driverware last night. I wanted to get it installed as soon as possible so I can make some observations and adjustments." Blue clicked a few items before unhooking both the dragons. She and Seto watched as the comms rebooted and slowly moved across the table to each other.

"Hello! My name is Lil-Blue!" Blue's comm said and sat back on its hind legs.

"My name is Nike." Seto's comm replied, mimicking its counterpart.

"Nike?" Blue queried with a turn of her head, eye filled with genuine curiosity. "Like the greek goddess or the shoe brand?"

"The goddess. Mokuba helped me pick the name."

Blue stared at him for another moment and Seto would have paid a mint to know what she was thinking. Did she think him silly? Was she commenting to herself how completely ridiculous his choice of name was?

 _Nike...that's so cute,_ was the thought that truly waltzed across Blue's mind. Blue's gaze quickly scanned down Seto's form, noting for some reason that he was wearing his purple coat today.

 _He's cute,_ was the next, completely unwanted, thought to follow.

"What?" Seto snapped, jolting Blue out of her mind and back into reality.

"Nothing!" she blurted and turned back to the comms. "That's just...clever." She couldn't tell him she thought he was cute, no way in hell.

"Whatever," Seto mumbled, not letting on that her words had struck him so sweetly. "Do you need to hang onto it for study?"

"I thought about that," Blue started and regained her professionalism, "but it's best if you keep Nike with you. If it stays with me, it'll develop just like Lil-Blue and that won't do any good. Besides, you're the registered user."

"So, how do you intend to observe them?" It was a leading question and one that Seto was having a hard time convincing himself that he wouldn't like the answer to.

"Well, we'll have to let them interact for a little while every few days. I know you're busy running the company but it's really the best way to test the software," Blue turned back to him but didn't meet his gaze. "Think you could make a trip down here every once in awhile?"

He should have told tell her 'no'; there was no way he could create the distance he needed if he kept seeing her. However, it would look odd that he wasn't willing to contribute to a project he had invested so much in. At least, that was the lie he told himself.

"I suppose I could drop in every now and again," he found himself muttering as his eyes betrayingly dipped back down to her bare legs. Thankfully, Blue didn't seem to notice as she still wasn't looking at his face.

"Cool," Blue added, her own eyes seemingly intrigued with the barest outline of Seto's abs that she could make out through his shirt.

 _Damn…,_ she thought and finally turned away to hide the blush coming across her cheeks.

"Alright, well...I've got a lot of work to do."

"Me, too," Seto piped up, ripping his eyes away from the girl before him and his own tiny blush lighting his face. He extended his hand so Nike could climb up his arm and settle on his shoulder.

"Email me a progress report."

"Got it." And the CEO departed, heading to his office many floors above. Once in the elevator and sailing away from the R&D labs, Seto rubbed the bridge of his nose and cursed himself. Little did he know, Blue was doing the same thing.

Yup. They were both screwed.

* * *

"Serenity, this dinner is delicious. You really are a great cook," Tristan praised the object of his affection and took another hearty bite of his curry. Joey, ever the suspicious brother, eyed his friend carefully from his spot on the couch, his own plate of food in his hands.

"Thanks, Tristan. And thanks for coming over for dinner, guys," Serenity cheered and looked to each of her friends. Yugi, Tea, Joey, and Tristan all smiled from their various seats around the couch and coffee table. It was a great night to spend in the company of good friends.

That is until the door slammed open and Blue came marching into her home. She took one look around the room and let out a tired sigh as everyone looked to her, startled.

"Welcome home, Blue," Serenity said, offering up a sweet smile to her roommate. Blue wasn't in the mood to play nice though.

"Do we live in party central now?" she griped and set down her bag, removing her heels to pad barefoot across the carpet.

"Geez. What's her problem?" Tea remarked as Blue made her way into the kitchen to get her own dinner.

"She's working for Kaiba, that's her problem," Joey replied with a huff. "Did 'ole money bags piss you off or something? I told you he was gonna be a pain to work for!"

"I don't recall asking your opinion, nitwit," Blue called back scathingly. She had no intention of letting anyone know that her irritation was indeed caused by Seto Kaiba; although, not for the reason they were thinking.

The last half hour at Kaiba Corp. Headquarters had been...trying. Seto had come back to the lab to let the PersaComms interact before he made his own way home. It had taken everything in Blue to keep up a cool, professional attitude around him.

 _This is just insane. I have to crush this crush!_

To Blue, this meant drowning herself in work. So, taking her plate and a glass of water, she trudged back to the door. She was intending to spend a much time in her lab as necessary to drown out any thoughts of her boss. Serenity caught her before she could make a clean escape, though.

"Blue, don't you think you should relax for a little while. You just got home." The concern was coming from a place of sincerity but Blue needed to work.

"I've got work to do," she replied over her shoulder, trying to make her glare as icy as possible.

"Didn't you spend all day working?" Yugi asked, his violet eyes open and innocent.

"My apps need updating," was the instant argument. Serenity sighed and decided to compromise.

"I'll come get you in three hours. You really need to sleep tonight, Blue. You've got another full day tomorrow."

"Whatever," Blue scoffed and walked back out the door, slamming it behind her.

"Urgh! She's such a brat!" Joey huffed, shaking his fist at the door. "I don't know how you stand it, sis."

"Joey, Blue really isn't that bad. She's just busy," Serenity defended with a smile.

"Yeah, well...if Blue keeps spending so much time with Kaiba, she's just gonna get worse."

"But, she's working for Kaiba, not hanging out for fun," Tea said. "It's not like they are friends or anything."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," was all Joey could say in response.

"Ya know," Yugi said thoughtfully, "Blue is really lucky to have a friend like you, Serenity. You're so kind to look after her."

Serenity just smiled at the young duelist and took another bite of her dinner as the conversation moved on from her roommate to something else. Silently, Serenity still thought of her roommate. She knew Blue well enough to know just how lonely she truly must be. After all, she didn't have a family or a group of friends to be there for her.

 _Blue...I wish you would open your heart to someone_ , Serenity mentally implored. _I just don't want you to be alone forever._

* * *

 _Author's Note: Please review! Your words encourage me to keep writing! Let me know what you think and anything you would like to predict or see in coming chapters. :) And thanks for reading!  
_


	10. Chapter 10

The days turned to weeks and Seto and Blue's growing feelings for one another did not dissipate as they had hoped. However, both had become so adept at masking their feelings with snarky comments and witty banter that they almost believed they had conquered the plaguing thoughts of the other.

Yup, they were both in deep denial.

So, we join our beloved CEO in his office on a cool fall day. It had been another long day as the president of the largest gaming company in the world but Seto knew he still had a full night ahead of him.

"Roland," Seto said into the intercom on his desk as he pulled his dark green shirt with the high collar on, doing up the buttons.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?" Roland's voice buzzed back through the speaker.

"Pull the limo around front. Mokuba and I will be leaving shortly," he ordered and pulled on his old long purple coat. Seto had decided to change into his casual clothes at the office instead of going all the way home. After all, he had promised Mokuba that tonight they would have a "brother's night out."

"Yes, sir," the manservant replied briskly.

"Good. I have to run down to R&D so have Mokuba wait for me in the limo." Seto extended his hand to his desk where Nike sat watching him before it climbed up to settle on his shoulders, as was its usual perch now.

Seto swept out of his office, toting his briefcase in one hand, and boarded the elevator to stop in to see Blue on his way out. Stepping out into the dimmed corridor of the R&D department, he began to wonder if the entire staff had already left for the day when he heard voices from further down the hall. He followed the sounds and came upon one of the empty demo hangers, a vast room for trying out new technology that needed space to perform.

"Ok, walk backwards a bit." That was definitely Blue but who was she talking to? Seto pushed open the door only to be met by his brother crashing into him.

"Oh! Hey, Seto," Mokuba greeted with a big smile.

"Mokuba? What are you doing?" Seto looked over his little brother with a scrutinizing eye. The younger Kaiba was dressed in a black jumpsuit with wires and electrodes connecting at every joint.

"I'm helping Blue," he supplied and turned on his heel to march across the room, arms and legs board-stiff. "Is this good?"

"Perfect," Blue commented from a table near the wall. She had a video camera and several computers laid out across the surface. "How's it going, Kaiba?" she asked without turning from the screen.

"Any particular reason my brother is wearing a motion capture suit and acting a fool?" Seto deadpanned and came to stand next to the girl. Nike, spotting Lil-Blue on the table, scurried from Seto's shoulder to the table. The two PersaComms turned to face each other and gave off a series of chirps.

"Mokuba volunteered to assist with some research for the humanoid designs. He's been quite helpful since he is smaller than anyone else." Seto glanced at the screens to see a barebones avatar mimicking Mokuba's movements.

"Show Seto what you drew!" Mokuba interjected as he marched past the table, his face schooled in a serious mask. With a little smile at the young boy, Blue slid a sketch pad across the table to her boss.

"The proportions look good," Seto commented after a moment of close study. The sketches were actually quite impressive. She had managed to capture the essence of the Dark Magician Girl and Mystical Elf in miniature.

"Yeah, that took a bit of trial and error. It's hard to get a portable size without compromising the integrity of the character, "Blue replied. "I didn't want them to look silly."

"Good thinking. The last thing I want to produce is anything resembling Pegasus's toon monsters." Seto saw Blue shudder at the thought.

"Ugh! I hate toon world." Blue griped and ran a hand through her free flowing hair. "I mean, you take an amazing character design and make it ridiculous. It's downright criminal."

"Hmph. Couldn't have said it better myself," Seto chuckled and cast Blue a grin. He liked that she shared his abhorrence of toon monsters. The short moment of mutual disgust was short lived though as Mokuba came crashing to the ground after attempting a cartwheel.

"Mokuba!" Blue and Seto shared a startled look as they both cried out the young boy's name in unison.

"I'm ok," Mokuba quickly replied and sat up rubbing his head with a sheepish grin.

"If you continue to be so reckless, we'll have to spend our night out at the hospital," Seto said, exasperated, to which Mokuba could only laugh and pick himself up off the floor.

"Big plans tonight?" Blue asked off handed.

"Yeah! Seto and I are having a 'bro's night!" Mokuba cheered, excited to spend some quality time with his only sibling.

"Well, I've got all I need, so don't let me hold you two up," Blue replied with a small smile. "Lil-Blue and Nike can stay locked in the R&D lab tonight so you don't have to worry about them."

"Sounds good," Seto replied and turned to leave. "Roland has the car out front. Let's go, Mokuba."

"See ya later," Blue said with a wave and looked back to her computer screens, shutting down for the night.

"Later."

Mokuba looked between his brother's retreating back and Blue as he peeled off his jumpsuit to reveal his street clothes underneath. As he laid the suit on the table, he was suddenly struck with an incredible idea.

"Hey, Blue! Why don't you come with us?" The invitation was so unexpected that it actually pulled the young woman out of her thoughts to look at the smiling boy. Seto stiffened and glanced over his shoulder, wildly wondering what his brother was doing.

"Uh...thanks, Mokuba; but I would hate to intrude on your 'bro time,'" Blue tried, hoping to dissuade him gently; but he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

"Me and Seto don't mind, right?" Mokuba turned to his brother, silently imploring him to help him convince the girl to join them. Blue was the one to interject again.

"I'm going to the arcade tonight, too. Duke has some repairs he wanted me to-"

"We're going there later! Please come have dinner with us, Blue. Please!" Mokuba begged and turned his big, puppy-dog eyes on her. Blue blanched at the look, floundering for a way to the turn the kid down.

"There is no use trying to deter Mokuba when he pulls that face." Blue cast her wide eyes on her boss but Seto wasn't looking at her. "Just come on."

Sighing in defeat, Blue mumbled an 'Alright' and took up her bag to leave with the brothers, much to Mokuba's delight.

* * *

As mildly enjoyable as Seto had found his limited interactions with Blue at work over the past few weeks, he couldn't help but be suspicious of how she acted towards his little brother. She had been notoriously short and to the point with him whenever he came to the labs, not bothering with any kind of formalities. Hell, she hardly looked him in the eye! However, with Mokuba, she was far softer. She spoke to him much more patiently, answering every question he could pose about what she was working on or any new games she had tried. In fact, the two of them chatted all the way from Kaiba Corp. to the restaurant.

Seto glanced warily at the girl over the top of his menu before he finally interrupted the conversation.

"Mokuba," he snapped, earning his brother's startled gaze. "Go wash your hands before we order."

"Oh. Ok. Be right back!" he chirped, still happy, and quickly scampered off. Blue fell silent at the lad's departure and took to looking at her menu. Seto wasn't going to be ignored though.

"I want to make one thing perfectly clear…" Blue cast her eyes upon him, one pale eyebrow cocked in question. Seto continued. "If you are even entertaining the idea of using Mokuba to further your own goals, I will personally make sure you never sell another app again."

"Excuse me?" Blue bristled and set down her menu to give him her undivided attention. "Just what are you insinuating?"

"I've seen how nice you are to Mokuba and how you let him hang around the lab."

"Mokuba is a child," Blue growled, the vein in her forehead pulsing in irritation. "If you sincerely believe that I would use someone, especially someone as young as Mokuba, just to get ahead then you clearly don't know anything."

Blue huffed and snatched her menu back up.

"I've worked hard my whole life to get where I am and I did it all on my own. I don't have to manipulate people to get what I want. Unlike some people…"

Now, it was Seto's turn to bristle.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Blue turned an icy on him.

"Oh, did you just forget about all the times you came to the arcade, trying to get a sneak peek of the PersaComm?" Seto growled and Blue carried on, looking back to her menu with a superior air. "Not that all your flirting got you very far."

"Oh?" Blue glanced back his way to see that Seto was leaning against his palm, grinning and giving her a look that made her stomach drop. "You think I was flirting with you?"

"Well, what would you call stalking me at work and bringing in all that crap for me to fix?"

"That's your job, isn't it?" Blue stiffened at his point and Seto took the opportunity to gain the upper hand. "If anything, I think you were the one flirting with me; not charging me and wearing those skirts all the time." The last part was half mumbled but Blue still caught it.

"What does my wearing skirts have to do with anything?" she asked incredulously to which Seto could only blink in response. Typically, when faced with such a situation, Blue would have leaned forward with a devilish smirk and tried for the upper hand; but, this was Seto Kaiba, the man she had been secretly crushing on for weeks. And he had just commented on her wearing skirts!

Seto knew, as well, that he had messed up. He had let his mouth run on in the hopes of taking charge of the situation and, subsequently, stuck his foot in it. What could he say now? All he was capable of was staring into those incredible, sparkling blue eyes and try not to think about how much the thought of who they belonged to had plagued him over the past few weeks.

Thankfully, Mokuba came back just in time to diffuse the situation.

"You guys ok?" he asked, making Blue and Seto jump.

"Just fine!" they somehow blurted in unison and dove back behind their menus.

"Um...ok?" Mokuba took his seat between them and looked back and forth. What had he missed?

* * *

Mokuba was sure of it now. Something was going on between Blue and his brother; he just wasn't entirely sure what! At first, he had thought Seto and Blue didn't care much for each other, judging by the way the started the evening all but ignoring each other. But, the moment Mokuba had brought up the PersaComm project, he suddenly couldn't get a word in edgewise. It was insane to watch Blue and Seto bouncing ideas off one another for new programs to create or design elements to try. And if that wasn't weird enough, the conversation had somehow shifted to gaming consoles and strategy games that they both liked or disliked.

Even now, as the three climbed the steps to the arcade entrance, they were still chatting; almost as if they were more than just work colleagues.

 _I've never seen Seto act like this before. He almost looks...happy_ , Mokuba thought. As much as Mokuba wanted to spend time with his big brother, just the two of them, he also wanted to see how long Seto and Blue could continue in each other's company without one of them getting aggressively snappish.

"Blue, can we see what you're fixing?" Mokua blurted as Blue picked up her tool belt and radio from the front counter, earning a confused look from both adults.

"Really?" the girl replied, completely dumbfounded that the young teen would want to watch her work instead of playing the literally hundreds of games in the store.

"Mokuba, I'm sure Blue has a lot of work to do," Seto said slowly, knowing his brother was up to something but not exactly sure what.

"But, it's really cool to watch," Mokuba said, grinning from ear to ear.

"I don't mind if you wanna tag along for a bit," Blue said with a shrug. "But you're passing up on a lot of good games just to watch me work on a faulty duel arena."

Mokuba just laughed and scratched the back of his head as he followed Blue and his brother down a hall and through a door marked 'Duel Arena 3.' Blue flipped a large lever by the door and the arena illuminated, with the duel platforms both moving into position by the catwalks.

"Looks like the hydraulics need some work. Watch your step," Blue said as she stepped down onto the platform, which was actually about two inches lower than it should have been. Seto stepped down after her, interested in watching the new program she had created work, while Mokuba sat cross legged on the catwalk, watching.

Blue plugged her tablet cord into the dock on the console and began tapping away at the screen. In no time at all, the program had isolated a handful of areas in the arena that needed maintenance.

"That looks a lot like the program you used on Wheeler's duel disk," Seto commented.

"That's because I used that system as a starting point," Blue replied with a grin. "I did have to make quite a few adjustments to make it tablet accessible, though."

"So, could you run scans on duel disks with this?"

And, they were off, discussing tech and possible app developing. When Blue started walking Seto through the different accesses she had written into the program, Mokuba finally decided to sneak away and let them continue their own version of fun while he hit up some games.

* * *

"Alright, so if you can create a server link between this and the Kaiba Corp. systems, we could probably train the techs to start using it before the first of September," Seto mused, cradling his chin with one hand as he spoke.

"Hey, don't get too excited. You gotta pay for such a top quality application," Blue retorted with a playful grin. The young billionaire just rolled his eyes at her.

"Mokuba, tell this- Mokuba?" Finally, it dawned on Seto that his brother was no longer sitting on the catwalk. Slowly, panic began to rise in Seto as he scanned the arena to find that Mokuba was nowhere in sight.

"Game floor, come back," Blue ordered into her radio, voice terse as she, too, was worried for the boy.

 _"Go ahead,"_ a voice replied.

"I need eyes on Mokuba Kaiba. Is he out there?" There were a few heavy seconds before the person replied.

 _"Copy. I've got eyes on him. He's fine."_

Seto and Blue both let out a sigh of relief, the former running a hand through his hair.

"Sorry I hijacked your night," Blue muttered, earning a glance from her boss. But Blue was busy unhooking her tablet.

"Don't be. It was...nice." The word felt foreign on his tongue but Seto couldn't think of any other way to describe his evening in her company.

"Um...I've got a lot of work to do. So…" Blue mumbled, fighting back the blush growing in her cheeks. Thankfully, Seto had the same idea.

"See you later," he said, clearing his throat and stepping onto the walkway.

"Yeah, la-woah!" Blue, completely focused on not looking at her boss for fear of losing herself to the onslaught of butterflies in her stomach, had completely forgotten to step up to the catwalk. With her foot catching on the lip of the walkway, she gave out a yelp and began to toppled forward. Alarmed by her sudden cry, Seto had turned back just in time for Blue to come barreling into his chest. Instincts kicked in and the brunette reached out to catch the toppling girl by her forearms.

The instant they touched, Seto's large palms enveloping Blue's thin, bare arms, it was like the expo all over again. Lightning flashed and rippled through them both. Each sucked in a breath and they both looked to the other. Their eyes became locked in a battle of azure intensity. It was like they had become magnets, drawn to each other and unable to break free.

They stood like that, close enough that Blue's hands lie on Seto's chest, for a long moment. Neither could move and, secretly, they didn't want to. Until, the radio on Blue's belt crackled to life.

 _"Blue, come back,"_ Duke's voice called over the speaker and effectively broke the spell the girl and Seto had been under. Jumping away from each other and turning to hide their growing blushes, Blue picked up her radio and turned the volume down.

"See you tomorrow," she quipped.

"Tomorrow." Seto began marching one way and the Blue another. Five steps later they both realized they were heading the wrong way and turned back to scurry back past each other, still looking at the floor.

"This way."

"Yup."

* * *

Mokuba cast his brother a sideways glance as they rode home, having left the arcade not long after Seto had come to find him. He didn't look to be angry or in a bad mood, but Mokuba decided to tread lightly.

"Tonight was a lot of fun, Seto," he said, voice chipper but wary. "Thanks, big brother."

"You're welcome." Mokuba blinked and turned to his brother with wide eyes. Seto was never this cordial or quiet, for that matter; but he was just staring out the window, watching the city speed by. Clearly he was distracted so Mokuba, having an itch of an idea, decided to try something to bring his brother's attention back to the present.

"It was really nice of Blue to come with us. Maybe she can come out to dinner with us again soon."

"Blue is my employee," Seto all but growled, his fist clenching on his thigh. Mokuba peered at his brother, noticing how he clenched his teeth and...was he blushing?!

"Yeah but...isn't she a contract worker?" the younger boy asked. "I thought that was different."

It was like Seto was a knot and someone had pulled just the right string for him to loosen. Mokuba was right; Blue was only contracted with Kaiba Corp. So, could there still be a conflict of interest should he decide to…

"Nothing is ever that simple." The statement was so soft, Mokuba wasn't entirely sure it had been aimed at him. Nevertheless, he replied.

"Ok, Seto. But, Blue is still really fun. And smart. And pretty, too."

"Drop it, Mokuba."

Silently, though, Seto agreed. Blue was all those things. And more.

* * *

 _Author's note: Phew! Took me a few days to get this one down but I kinda like how it turned out. :) As usual, please leave a review, more to come, AND THANK YOU FOR READING!_


	11. Chapter 11

The weeks passed, the season shifted further into the colors of fall, and Mokuba Kaiba was seeing very little progress in his mission to get Blue and his brother together. He hung around Blue's lab every spare minute he had, trying to measure her interest in Seto. He also tried to bring her up in conversation with the older Kaiba often but not so much as to arouse suspicion. So far, though, the two young adults had maintained an entirely professional relationship; even though they had all had dinner together a handful of times since that first night out.

It didn't make any sense to the younger boy. According to every movie and anime he had ever seen, those two should have fallen in love by now! Mokuba needed to create a length of time for Blue and Seto to be forced into each other's company; and he had just the plan.

The annual Kaiba Corporation Shareholder's meeting was beginning this weekend and being hosted in the lovely Tohoku region. Mokuba was cutting it close as he and Seto were scheduled to fly out in just a few short hours, but he was still going to try.

"Hey, Seto?"

"Hm?" grunted the older brother, his attention never wavering from his computer screen.

"I was wondering: who is doing the PersaComm presentation?"

Seto blinked and turned to his brother, who was trying his very best to appear nonchalant.

"I am. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just Blue has made a lot of updates and built the new models herself and you're already presenting the new KC tablet upgrades and the keynote address..."

"Are you saying I'm not capable of handling all that?" Mokuba grimaced and instantly changed tactics.

"No, of course not! I just thought that maybe Blue had earned the chance to do the presentation…" Seto did not look impressed. "With you! I mean, it is her invention and she knows every detail so she could be your backup."

Mokuba watched his brother's eyebrows pull down over his eyes as he processed what the young boy had said. He was silent for so long that Mokuba was sure that Seto would turn the idea down. Disappointment began to creep into the young boy. He had failed. Blue and Seto would never-

"That's actually a good idea," the CEO muttered just loud enough for Mokuba to hear. "Roland!"

The bodyguard creaked the office door open, peeking inside at the abrupt summons.

"Sir?"

"Blue will be joining us this weekend. Make the necessary arrangements."

As Roland scurried back out, calling a "Right away, sir!" behind him, and Seto turned back to his computers, Mokuba couldn't suppress the sly grin that slid across his face.

The hot springs of Tohoku would be the perfect place for the tech and the CEO to spend some quality time together.

* * *

"And that should just about do it." Blue leaned back from her computer and stretched her arms overhead. With Seto debuting the latest designs of the PersaComm to the shareholders, the girl had decided to stay a little later than usual in order to make sure that all the details were included in her report. Scanning the last of her notes, she tapped send on the email and watched the window flicker closed. Letting out a sigh, she began shutting down her systems with the intention of heading home. For the first time in so many weeks, she was going to have a night in at home just to relax. But, first…

"Do I have any emails?"

"No new emails, Blue," Lil-Blue chirped as it climbed up her arm. "Seto Kaiba has received all correspondence, though."

"Thanks." Blue did her best to quell the disappointment she felt pooling in the base of her stomach. Seto hadn't stopped by with Nike before leaving for the weekend and, not that she would ever say this out loud, but Blue kind of missed the visit.

Gathering up her belongings, she shut off the last of the lights and made her now familiar way out of the labyrinth that was Kaiba Corp. She cast lazy looks into the darkened offices, noting that the staff she had become accustomed to saying her farewells to at the end of the day had already left.

 _Hm. It's weird to leave without them here,_ Blue mused, finding her own shift in demeanor odd. It was all true. Blue had unwittingly created a schedule of sorts. Not too long ago, she had been the type to work for days on end without rest to complete a project or push through the last phase of developing the PersaComm, which was then followed by long periods of sleep only to be repeated. Now, with a steady work schedule and a team to delegate to, her life had settled into a routine of work and rest that would resemble something a normal teenage girl to have. She even socialized. Well, only if you counted the almost daily interactions with Seto Kaiba.

 _I wonder if he...hm…_

Blue was so caught up in her thoughts about the CEO as she reached the front doors of the lobby, she was taken entirely by surprise as a pair of large hands grabbed her abruptly by the forearms and all but threw her into an idling town car.

"WHAT THE DAMN HELL?!" she screeched, clutching Lil-Blue to her chest protectively as the door slammed closed. "Hey!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Blue, but we are running very late!" Roland apologized hurriedly as he dove into the front passenger seat and signaled to the driver to proceed.

"Late? Late for what?!" Blue asked as her fear of being abducted waned into frustration. Her question would go unanswered, though, as Roland worried with his phone and the driver kept his attention to the road. Blue was awfully tempted to send an email to Kaiba to inquire as to why exactly his bodyguard, who should have been on a plane to Tohoku with his employer, was kidnapping her from work.

Ten short minutes later, the car slid to a stop and Roland jumped out to open her door. Blue's eyes widened as she took in the small, sleek jet parked on the tarmac only a few yards away.

"Roland, what the fu-" Blue began.

"Please go on board, Miss, and I'll collect your bags," Roland interrupted and scurried to the trunk.

"What bags?!" Blue growled as she slid from the back seat, intent on following the guard to the back of the car. However, another KC employee, this one in a yellow safety vest, was ready to intervene and began ushering her to the lowered stairs of the plane.

"Hey! No one has answered my questions and I am not getting on some plane to god-knows-where without-"

"Blue!" came the barking voice of Seto Kaiba as he appeared in the doorway of the jet. The girl jumped at his sudden appearance and finally stumbled up the first step. "We are late enough as it is, so get on the damned plane!"

"Late for what?!" Blue demanded as Seto disappeared back into the plane, leaving her to hurry up the steps after him.

"To the shareholder meeting, of course," Mokuba supplied from his cushy leather seat, waving as the girl stomped inside.

"I thought you said I wasn't going," her navy eyes turned to glittering slits as she turned on a certain brunette, who had already resumed his seat and was typing quickly in his laptop.

"I decided that you doing the PersaComm presentation would be preferable," Seto replied without looking to her. "You already prepped so just use the notes you sent to me."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, boss man," Blue snapped, fists balling up at her sides, "but I have other work this weekend, so you can't just kidnap me."

"I don't have anything on your schedule," Lil-Blue chirped from her shoulder. Ever the helpful little dragon.

"I already called Devlin to let him know you wouldn't be available. I also had Roland grab your laptop so you can work on any of your app updates."

"Ok. Well, all that aside, I can't afford a long weekend in Tohoku. I'm not made of money, like some people," Blue said, hoping to get her way with logic.

"You're coming as an employee of Kaiba Corp., so the whole weekend is on us," Mokuba added cheerfully. Dumbfounded, Blue looked between the smiling dark haired child and her boss, who still had not looked up from his computer screen, before plopping down into the seat behind her.

"What about clothes? I don't have any-"

Roland took that chance to appear with a small, light blue overnight case.

"Your roommate, Miss Wheeler, assisted us in collecting the necessities for your stay in Tohoku."

"This is insane," Blue groaned and leaned her head back. Seemed she didn't have much of a choice in this matter. She was spending the weekend with Seto Kaiba.

* * *

The onsen Kaiba Corporation has booked for the weekend was the most expensive and luxurious facility Blue had even seen. Somehow, the architects and designers had achieved the perfect blend of traditional Japanese style while seamlessly including modern Western comforts. The young woman let herself marvel at the astounding features of the hotel as she followed the hostess, a middle-aged woman in a demure gray kimono, to her room.

"I do apologize for the wait, Miss. Getting your room together was a bit last minute," the older woman said again as she swept a stray lock of dark hair back to her bun.

 _Because Kaiba waited until today to decide to drag me along_ , Blue thought, peeved. The Kaiba brothers' room had been prepared on their arrival, leaving Blue to stand about the glistening lobby for some time.

"It's quite alright. Thank you for being so accommodating," she said instead, trying not to take her irritation at the situation out on the poor woman. Her job was hard enough when she had Seto Kaiba to please. At last, the hostess came to a door and produced a key card.

"I hope this will be to your liking, Miss."

The door opened onto a small but lovely room. It was well furnished with a king size bed, a kitchenette, and a little table with two matching chairs. Blue stepped into the room, trying not to be impressed; of course, that didn't last as she carefully crossed the space and poked her head out the back, sliding glass door to gaze upon a quaint but beautiful courtyard beyond. Bonsai trees were placed strategically around the wooden walkway, a perfect square for the center of the hotel, each plant twinkling in the dark with lights. A small waterfall trickled pleasantly into a koi pond and a red lacquered bench was placed in the perfect spot to enjoy the shade of trees during the day or stargaze at night.

"Woah…" Blue muttered as she stepped out into the night air, eyes wide.

"Pretty cool, right?" The girl gave a shriek at the sudden voice and nearly jumped out of her skin. Turning, one hand on her chest to keep her racing heart in it's place, she saw Mokuba standing in an identical sliding door next to her room.

"Mokuba! You scared the hell out of me!" Blue gasped. "What are you doing?"

"This is mine and Seto's suite for the weekend. Looks like they put you in the adjoining room," Mokuba observed. "We're roomies!"

"Ugh," Blue groaned and placed the heel of her hand on her forehead. "I bet your brother is gonna be pissed they put me here then." There was no way the CEO would be happy to share the private courtyard with his employees!

"Trust me, I've already had a talk with the hotel owner." Blue stiffened as her boss's gruff retort drifted from the room behind Mokuba.

"Well, you could always just send me ho-" Blue's retort died on her lips as she poked her head around the wall to cast a withering glare at her boss. She had intended to give the spoiled CEO whatfor. Instead, she caught him coming out the bathroom in dark blue, slouchy pajama pants and no shirt.

 _Woah,_ was the only cohesive thought to traipse across Blue's brilliant mind as her eyes soaked in her boss's amazingly sculpted chest and abdomen. When did he have time to work out?!

"For someone who is getting a free trip to the most expensive onsen in Japan, you would think a little gratitude would be customary," Seto huffed as he towel dried his hair, eyes closed and completely oblivious to just what was happening to poor Blue. No, Seto was far too busy trying to seem aloof and not let on that he was the slightest bit happy about the present circumstance. The young tech wiz would be close for the entire weekend which was both good and bad in the CEO's complex brain.

Blue, meanwhile, was mentally cursing any deity she could think of as she watched a lone droplet of water trickle down her boss's stomach, rippling over every muscle.

 _Get out. Run. Bad thoughts. FUCK!_

"FinethanksG'NIGHT!" Blue rambled off quickly as she turned on her heel and zipped back out the door to her own room, slamming the glass door closed behind her.

Groaning, Blue dove onto the king sized bed and shoved her tomato red face into a pillow, hoping to muffle her scream of frustration. So much for being over her feelings for Seto Kaiba.

 _This weekend is never going to end,_ she thought desperately, lamenting her situation. This was bad. This was dangerous. He was so hot.

"MMMMrrrrhhhhnnnggg…." Blue grunted into the pillow before flipping over onto her back and shoving the heels of her hands into her eyes, trying to will away the remaining wisps of Seto Kaiba from behind her eyes.

In true Blue fashion, when faced with a predicament, the girl jumped to her feet and began to pace. She thought best on her feet.

"Why is he doing all this? Is it on purpose? Does he even know?" she muttered and shuffled from one end of the room to the other. "Start at the top…"

Why would Kaiba be doing all this? He already had the persacomm tech and her employ. He had more money than just about anyone. Did he enjoy toying with her? That seemed like a very Kaiba thing to do. Manipulate her into situations where he had all the power just to show off.

With that little realization, the other answers (or what she believed to be the answers) flowed into place. Of course he was doing this all on purpose and he had to have an inkling of an idea about how he affected her! She had been friendly enough during all their late afternoon meetings when he would come to the labs to let Nike and Lil-Blue "converse." Maybe too friendly, now that she thought back. Conversation seemed to flow so easily between Kaiba and herself. Once they had started on a topic, the two could go on for sometime. Books, video games, Duel Monsters, work. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she began to realize that she could have been acting more friendly with her boss than her position really allowed.

 _So the whole...shirtless thing had to be some kind of show. That bastard!_ Blue came to a halt with a stomp of her foot. _Two can play that game, Kaiba._

* * *

Tohoku was the genuine article when it came to their touted advertisement of "serenity and peace." The sun had just barely risen into the sky, painting it various shades of red and pink. Seto, a hot mug of coffee in hand, took a deep breath of the fresh air as he overlooked the decorative courtyard beyond his room. The next few days were going to be very busy with the main presentation and lunches and parties. It was nice to take just a few moments to really enjoy the quiet of Tohoku.

Peace.

SLAM!

Or not.

"Ok, what the hell is this?" Blue demanded as she stepped out of her room and onto the walkway beside her boss, a black garment bag dangling from her hand. Rolling his eyes, the CEO turned to snap at his employee but stopped short. Blue wasn't naked, not by normal standards anyway, but the black sports bra and blue shorts were not leaving much to the imagination.

"Why aren't you dressed?!" Seto gaped and averted his eyes quickly before his thoughts could roam to indecent territory.

"I'm dressed," Blue argued, looking down at herself and clearly seeing no issue. "And you didn't answer me!"

Seto's lips fell into a terse line before he turned his back on the girl and walked back into his own room

"What does it look like?"

"Um, it looks like some expensive freakin' dress and it isn't mine," Blue continued, following him through the door, her bare feet padding on the hard floor. Seto took a seat at the table and began typing away at his laptop, doing all he could to ignore her.

"Your usual attire isn't appropriate for the presentation." _Especially right now._

"Ok, well you could have just said something, like a normal person, instead of just snapping your fingers and having something magically delivered. I can't afford this, Kaiba!"

Seto huffed and finally looked up into Blue's stern face: lips pursed in irritation, pale eyebrows pulled down over those glowing sapphire eyes, and her snowy hair flowing around her. Couple all that with the fact that her long legs and slender midriff were proudly on display and Seto knew he was screwed (or something like that.)

"I never said you had to pay me back," he finally replied. "Now, go get ready. You can't wear your... _that_ on stage."

With a huff and a muttered insult, something that sounded remarkably like "spoiled rich people", Blue turned about and marched back to her own room to prepare for the day. Once the girl was out of sight and her door had again closed, Seto let out his own groan and slammed his hand over his eyes.

Mokuba, having missed the show, poked his head out of the bathroom door, his toothbrush dangling from his mouth.

"Everything ok, Seto?" The CEO gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head before going back to his laptop.

 _That woman will be the end of me._

* * *

Good grief, this was uncomfortable. Not the dress itself, mind you; it was actually quite lovey. Baby blue in color with a sweetheart neckline, short cap sleeves, and a mid-calf skirt that hugged along her body to give off a flattering silhouette. No, the dress itself was not the problem. It was the Armani tag in the collar and the price tag (which she had googled before confronting Seto.) Blue tugged at the front of the dress again as she looked out from the dark wings onto the stage. The MC was still giving his spiel, thanking all the shareholders for taking the time to come to their meeting. She would be called out soon, to give the PersaComm presentation with-

"Is it possible for you to stop fidgeting?" Blue nearly jumped out of her immaculate clothing (from fright, obviously) as her boss sidled up behind her, his voice low.

"Don't do that!" She whispered harshly, hoping her irritation could mask the fluttering in her chest at the CEO's appearance. Seto merely shot her a half- smirk before stepping up next to her, adjusting his tie and looking out onto the stage.

"You look nice. And you're welcome," he said as he cast her a sideways glance, noting that her long white hair had been braided carefully and draped over one shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks for making me egregiously uncomfortable," Blue huffed, keeping her voice low and choosing to ignore the compliment. She wasn't going to let Seto Kaiba get any more leverage over her.

"It's about image; not comfort."

"Hence the suit?" Blue queried and took in Seto's all white jacket and pants. The only splash of color came from his tie, which was almost identical in color to her dress.

"Makes me 'more approachable'. Or so my PR rep has told me."

"Too bad. Not many guys can pull off the whole long coat look." Seto felt his own stomach flutter at the compliment.

"Hmph. Feeling friendly today, Blue?" he teased and cast her a haughty smirk. The look slid from his face though as he noticed the girl's tense shoulders and her balled up fists at her sides. While her face was relatively placid, her stance was a dead giveaway.

"Take a deep breath. This is hardly a make-or-break moment," Seto advised. Blue scoffed in response.

"Yeah, well, what if they hate the new designs? Or they think my entire concept is stupid?" she bit out, ice layering her low voice and some wisps of hair falling into her face to shadow her eyes.

"The only person whose opinion you should be concerned with is mine," Seto replied after a beat. "And, for the record, your invention is beyond brilliant."

Blue straightened at his words and turned to look into the face of her boss. He wasn't smiling; but, no one could really expect Seto Kaiba to offer up such a thing. However, his eyes were another story. Those navy blue pools shined in the dim light and expressed all the admiration and sincerity of his last statement.

"I wouldn't have invested so much in you if I didn't think it was worth it," he continued. "You should be proud of what you have accomplished."

Blue was so stunned by his words and the look in his eyes that she couldn't think of a witty response. A small glimmer of warmth beat in the center of her chest and a smile, tiny though it was, set itself upon her lips.

"Thanks, Kaiba."

Seto felt the slightest pang in his chest as Blue uttered those two simple words; but he could not decide if he was touched at her gratitude or slightly disappointed at her use of his family name. She was so lovely, glowing in the dimmed light and offering to him that small, sweet smile. He could feel a warmth growing in him; so, he turned away and back to the stage.

"Don't get used to the compliments. You're still just my employee," he retorted in a hope to reinstate their professional boundaries.

"As it should be," Blue added, her brain winning out over the small desire she felt for something more.

Silence reigned over them again as they waited to be called to the stage to present the PersaComms. Both internally tried to stash away the newfound, friendly affection they felt for the other and neither was aware of the other's struggle. They also had the same question rolling through their minds:

Could we even be friends?

* * *

"Well, it's official. The PersaComms are a hit! I've already had a bunch of people asking about pre-orders. You guys did it!" Mokuba looked from his brother to Blue as they all three strolled back to their hotel rooms, with the younger Kaiba walking between the older two. "Although, some people were a little upset that the Blue Eyes models won't be mass produced."

"You've got your brother to thank for that one," Blue snipped, her tone light as she looked down into the young boy's face with a smile. "He just wants to keep that design all for himself."

"The Blue Eyes White Dragon is my signature monster. Why should everyone else have one?" The CEO cut in, his tone brusque but not malicious.

"What about Lil-Blue?" Mokuba added in an effort to remind his brother there were currently two Blue Eyes PersaComms in existence.

"That's different," Kaiba interjected and loosened his tie a little. "Blue hand built Nike and Lil-Blue, so her having one is fine."

"Aw. Thanks for letting me keep Lil-Blue, boss," Blue retorted sarcastically, still smiling though. Seto rolled his eyes over to his employee with a half smirk of his own. Their moods were both soaring with just how well the presentation had gone. Mokuba grinned, looking between the two, and decided to put the second phase of his plan into motion.

"So, Blue, are you gonna check out the hot springs?" the younger brother offered, attempting to be nonchalant. Clearly, it worked, as Blue cast a glance down at him.

"I hadn't really thought about it," she admitted. "I guess I should, since we're here. That's ok, right?" The last part was directed at the elder Kaiba.

"There aren't any other events until tomorrow, so do what you want," the CEO replied as the trio came to their respective rooms.

"Ok. Well, I'll see you guys later, then," Blue said as she opened her own door and disappeared inside.

"Later," Seto muttered after Blue as she left before going into his own room with Mokuba trailing him.

"Hey, Seto. You know what we should do?"

* * *

Blue gave a final tug to the side-knot of her bath towel before tiptoeing onto the steps of the onsen. The entrance to the pool was located inside, allowing the steam to gather, but there was also an opening that lead to the outer spring. Nodding kindly to another bather, an older woman who eyed her cautiously from her perch by the steps, Blue silently journeyed through the overhang and out into the open air, the water lapping at her covered rib cage. Blue had had the option to bath in the nude but she had been more than happy to take towel offered. Although, even with little cloth covering her from chest to the top of her thigh, she was still thankful that she appeared to be the only other occupant for now.

She made her way over to the back of the pool, placing herself along a rock wall that separated the men' and women's pools but still allowed for people to socialize. Settling herself into a corner, Blue let herself sink down until the water brushed her collar bone. If anyone entered from either side, she would be able to see them from this vantage point.

 _Old bat acted like she had never seen someone with white hair before,_ Blue grunted inwardly and reached up to make sure her braids were secured tightly to her head. Satisfied that her lengthy lock were indeed staying in place, the girl sighed and leaned back against the rocks. Looking up she could just make out the first stars as the sky shifted into twilight. The sky was mostly red now but there were spots of navy leaking into the edge.

" _You should be proud of what you have accomplished."_

Blue's mind drifted back to the wings of the stage and Seto's words. Heaving another sigh, her eyes slid shut and she again felt that flutter of warmth in her chest. Since she was all alone, Blue let herself dwell on her boss's words and the image of his face as he had said them.

 _Seto Kaiba...why do you make me feel like this?_ she questioned, her mind pushing away the warmth budding in her chest and logic taking over. Blue wasn't a newbie when it came to other sex. She remembered all her previous 'boyfriends', although the term was placed very loosely as she had never felt any kind of emotional attachment to them. No, the three guys she had ever become 'serious' with had each lasted only a few months before she stopped taking their calls. And none of them had ever elicited any of the feelings she got from even being near Seto Kaiba. But why?

 _I guess he is a lot more interesting than the others,_ she acquiesced. _He understands my work and appreciates it, too. He's also brilliant and…_

Blue's thoughts slowed as she opened her eyes and looked back to the sky. No, she wasn't ready to admit that last bit to herself. Not just yet.

Blue was suddenly ripped out of her thought as a rock came sailing past her face from nowhere.

"Hey!" Blue shouted as she jumped and glared to the source of the attack. However, her eyes suddenly widened as she realized who had joined her.

"Oh! Blue! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!" Mokuba said as he waded from the men's entrance, smiling. "I was trying to skip a rock. My bad!"

"Mokuba? What-"

"Mokuba, I told you to wait for me." Blue's question was cut off as Seto pushed aside the overhang from the men's entrance and made his way into the spring. The water was high enough, and murky enough, where Blue could not anything below his waist; but this was the second time she had been graced with a shirtless Seto Kaiba in 24 hours. And there came that fluttery feeling again; along with an intense blush that was sure to creep into her hairline as she realized just how naked she was in the presence of her boss.

"What are you doing here?!" Blue squeaked out before abruptly turning her back on the brothers and covering her chest with her arms, regardless of the fact that her bathing towel was still covering her.

"Seto and I wanted to enjoy the springs, too," Mokuba supplied jovially. "Isn't that right, big brother?" Blue heard the older brother grunt in agreement but say nothing else.

 _Oh my god, just kill me now,_ Blue thought.

"Ok, well, I'm just gonna go then, so-"

"Aw! Please stay, Blue!" Mokuba pleaded. He needed Blue there for his plan to work! Blue glanced over her shoulder into Mokuba's pleading violet eyes. A further glance showed that Seto had already set his back against the rock barrier, so clearly he wasn't leaving.

"Is this gonna bother you?" Blue queried to her boss, half hoping he would tell her to 'get lost.'

"Do what you want." Blue sighed at the muttered reply and sat herself back against the stone wall, her back directly parallel to Seto's.

"Whatever," she replied as she snatched up a rock from behind her and sent it sailing across the water, where it skipped three times before colliding with the opposite wall.

"Wow! Where did you learn to skip rocks like that?" Mokuba asked, smiling with wonder.

"Go find some and I'll show you how," the girl replied without glancing back.

"Ok, I'll be right back. Don't leave!" Mokuba wadded away to search the surrounding walls for stones, leaving Seto and Blue alone.

After a few moments of silence, Blue was the first to speak.

"I really can leave, if you want."

Seto seriously considered the idea. If Blue left, maybe his heart would stop pounding his chest. Maybe his cheeks would return to their normal coloring. Maybe all these thoughts surrounding the mere glimpse of her would vanish from his mind if she would just leave! Yet…

"Mokuba will be upset if you do. And you're already here." Seto half grimaced as he heard the gentle sound of splashing water behind him as Blue shifted. He could practically feel her eyes on his shoulders.

"When did your brother become so manipulative?" Blue deadpanned and turned back to face the expanse of the women's spring. "Seriously. We both turn to putty under those puppy eyes of his."

"You might, but I am not as weak," Seto retorted only to be met with a splash of water colliding with the back of his head. Shocked at the retaliation, he turned around to face the disgruntled face of his employee.

"You can't trick me so easily. That kid has you wound oh-so-tight," Blue replied, circling her pinky in the air to enunciate her point. Seto blanched at her brazen attitude; especially considering that they were both so close and practically naked.

"Blue! Will these work?" Mokuba, thankfully, returned before things could become more awkward; his palms filled with stones. Blue gave a haughty smirk and looked to the treasure trove of rocks the younger brother had returned with.

"The flatter, the better. These rough ones won't do." Mokuba smiled at the older girl's gentle criticism before his lips pursed together.

"Your hair is slipping," the little brother said, gesturing to his own head.

"Damn it," Blue muttered softly and turned her back on the brothers again as she tried to repin her slipping braid. As she reached over head and fiddled with the bobby pin, both brothers caught a glimpse of a ragged scar gracing the girl's back, slicing from just below her shoulder blade into her side before disappearing beneath her towel.

"What happened?" Mokuba blurted, obviously so taken by the sudden appearance of such an ugly scar on his rather lovely friend that all convention escaped him. Seto stiffened at his brother's rudeness but also could not tear his eyes away as Blue's hand left her now fixed hair-do to brush against the far side of the scar.

"You really want to know?" she asked as she glanced over one shoulder, her blue eyes icy. Mokuba gave a quick nod but Seto remained still.

"Well, then...there was this...monster."

And Blue leapt into a ridiculous story of a fiendish monster that she fought off with her bare hands. There was blood, gore, fighting, all the elements that make for a thrilling tale. Blue was mostly directing her outlandish story at Mokuba but even Seto was captivated with the clearly fictitious recount.

"...and that is how I saved the known universe from evil using only a maraca, an oar, and a ball point pen."

As Blue came to her conclusion, Mokuba dropped all his collected stones back into the spring to clap enthusiastically. Seto smirked and leaned an elbow against the low wall.

"Clearly, you missed your calling, Blue. You should direct horror movies," the CEO said to which Blue just shrugged and grinned. Mokuba dropped his hands and pursed his lips.

"But what really happened?"

"Oh, the real story is far more boring," Blue said with a wave of her hand before brushing a few loose strands of hair from her face. "You dropped all your rocks, by the way."

Suddenly realizing his mistake, Mokuba groaned and began to wade back across the spring to search for more. Blue laughed softly at the younger boy and settled back into her previous seated position with her back to her boss. Seto, his eyes still on Blue, leaned down so his chin rested on his forearm along the wall.

"The real story is quite boring so I'm not going to tell you," Blue said after a few moments, glancing behind her shoulder to look at his face. Seto merely smirked.

"I wasn't going to ask."

"Then why are you staring at me?" Seto wracked his brain for some reason he would be looking at her and went with the first thing he would think of.

"Why is your hair white?" Blue cocked a pale eyebrow at his question.

"Why is my-? That's your question?" she asked incredulously. Seto gave a half shrug in answer. Perhaps the springs were becoming a bit too relaxing? "Well, why is your hair brown?"

"Genetics," Seto replied. "So, that is your natural hair color?"

"I'm not albino, if that's what you are wondering. It's called poliosis," Blue snapped, clearly irritated with the topic of conversation. "It's a genetic disorder; a lack of production of melanin so my hair doesn't maintain pigment. Ergo, white hair." Seto watched as Blue reached up to twirl the few long, loose strands of hair in front of her face.

"I didn't think you were albino," he commented and sat up straighter, still leaning on his elbow. Blue looked to him, her fingers still entwined in her hair. "You're eyes. They wouldn't be blue if you were." Blue hooked her loose hair behind her ear and gave a soft smile.

"You would not believe how many people I have had to explain that to," she laughed. Seto felt himself grin at her response. It was a nice moment for them. Maybe they could be friends after all.

Of course, nothing so good can ever last. At that precise moment, a rock came sailing out of nowhere and collided harshly with the side of Seto's forehead.

"Ow! What the hell?!" The CEO cursed, his eyes clenching shut in pain and his wet fingers instantly going to his smarting head. Blue, caught off guard by the sudden attack, looked behind her boss to see Mokuba standing some feet away, his hands clasped over his mouth in horror. Seto followed her gaze and growled as he realized just where the assault had originated.

"Mokuba," he warned. The younger brother merely let out an "eep!" and dove under the surface of the water. Seto thought of going after the boy but Blue's snort of laughter stopped him. Glaring, he turned back to her.

"You think this is funny?" Seto growled as Blue tried to hide her giggles behind a hand.

"That kid either has the best or the worst aim ever," she said to which Seto could only roll his eyes. Of course, she would think this was funny. The CEO hissed as he probed the spot where the rock had struck him, just below his hairline over his right eye.

"Damn it," he cursed a he pulled his fingers away, checking to make sure he wasn't bleeding.

"Oh, let me see," Blue laughed, turned around to rest on her knees, and reached over the wall to him. Her fingers brushed gently against his cheek to make him look to her while her other hand moved to his small wound, water dripping down her wrist. Seto stiffened as she leaned closer to him and swept his hair away from the spot to get a better look. Butterflies erupted in his stomach only to be quelled as he winced in pain when she brushed her fingers across his injury.

"You might have a little bump but at least you aren't bleeding," Blue diagnosed, finally looking from the injury and straight into Seto's wide blue eyes. And then, it hit her; the onslaught of nerves at the realization of just how close she was to him. She couldn't move, her fingers still barely grazing his cheek as her other hand lowered. He had her trapped with that look. Even as her hair slipped from behind her ear to fall into her face, she still couldn't break away.

Seto was also mesmerized. He resisted every urge in him that was saying to lean into those soft, warm fingers on his cheeks. So much so, that as those wisps of snowy locks fell upon Blue's soft cheek, he couldn't stop himself from reaching forward to sweep them away. His own fingers brushed her soft, rosy pink cheeks before he replaced the hair behind her ear for her, letting his fingers trail down the length of those pearly strands for just a moment.

The moment was shattered as a gong sounded in the bathing area, signaling the top of the hour. Both snapped out of their reveries, yanking their hands away from the other and abruptly turning away.

"I think I'm done for now," Blue said, clutching at her racing heart and praying that Seto would not look her way and see her blazing cheeks.

"Same here," he replied, also hoping she would not feel compelled to look to him and see his blush.

"Ok. See ya later, then." And Blue all but raced away from the spot, vanishing behind the overhang to the women's entrance in a flash.

"Later," Seto half mumbled to the empty air and ran his own wet fingers across his cheek where Blue's had so recently been. The skin was still warm and tingly, his heart still pounding in his chest. Shaking away the thoughts, Seto waded around to the entrance to find Mokuba still hiding out by the outer overhang.

"Hey, Seto. Did Blue leave already?" his little brother asked as he began to wring the water out of his dripping hair. Seto nodded and pushed past the overhang, back into the inner spring.

"Aw, I was gonna ask if she wanted to have dinner with us. Maybe I can still catch her-"

"No," Seto interrupted quietly and snatched up a towel from the side of the pool.

"But, Seto-"

"I said, no."

* * *

 _Author's note: An extra long chapter since I have been gone for so long! I'm sorry! D: But, good news: I've got the rest of this fic outlined and already began writing the next chapter. :D So, please: read, review, like, subscirbe, tweet, insta- ok, that is a bit extreme. But please review! Until next time! ;D  
_


	12. Chapter 12

"Blue! Are you up yet?" Mokuba called as he rapped his knuckles on the sliding glass door before abruptly pushing it open. He was expecting Blue to still be in bed, since the girl had yet to make an appearance that morning. However, she was wide awake, sitting at her little table with her laptop, Lil-Blue, and a chess board before her. She was clad in a pair of blue pajama bottoms and a white tank top, her hair long and free.

"Hey, Mad Man," Blue said as she tapped a few keys. "Okay, I move knight to F3." She moved her piece forward with Lil-Blue appearing to watch her.

"When did you get up?" Mokuba asked and stepped forward to watch Lil-Blue scoot a pawn forward with its tail.

"Pawn to E6," the dragon chirped.

"Is it morning?" Blue asked absently and swept her hair back with one hand before looking to her computer screen again.

"Um, yeah," Mokuba replied his eyes going wide. "Wait! Did you stay up all night?"

"Guess so. Bishop to D3." Blue moved her piece.

"Aren't you tired, Blue?" the boy asked. She just shook her head 'no' and raised a coffee mug to him.

"Nope, but I think I'm out of coffee." Mokuba huffed and took the free seat.

"You should be relaxing. You're on vacation."

"She most certainly is not!" Mokuba jumped in his seat as his brother snapped at him from the doorway. Blue didn't look away from her computer but waved in response.

"Morning, boss," she muttered. Seto scoffed and stepped across the threshold, pushing down any remaining jitters from his last encounter with his employee.

"Are you teaching Lil-Blue to play chess?"

"Sort of. I had an idea for a program so you could play physical games with them," Blue explained as Lil-Blue moved another pawn forward.

"Hm. Don't you think starting with chess was a little ambitious?" Seto advised as Blue moved her bishop forward again.

"Well, considering I already programmed the rules for checkers and backgammon, I figured the complexity of chess was the next best move."

"You did that all last night?" Mokuba asked, his jaw slack. Blue grinned and finally looked to the brothers, her gaze giving away none of her feelings from the last time she had seen her boss.

"I can upload the new interface to Nike whenever," she said and Seto couldn't help but grin. Regardless of the tiny flutter in his stomach, Blue was clever and who's to say that his attitude toward her could be interpreted as anything but pride in his employee's hard work?

"Can it run a Yugoslav Attack?" Seto queried and Blue nodded.

"Yeah, but that's only a difficulty level of four. For a real challenge, I would suggest a six or higher for you." Seto nodded and straightened his tie.

"I'll test that when I get back." As his brother turned and left the way he had come, Mokuba found himself confused. The younger boy was sure after the events the previous evening in the hot spring, the two would be all over each other. At least, that's what Mokuba had hoped.

"Blue? Since you worked all night...you think you could come hang out for a while?" Mokuba asked softly. "Seto has a brunch thing and...well…"

Blue cocked an eyebrow at him, scrutinizing his turned down gaze for any malicious intent. Finally, deciding that Mokuba was sincere in his loneliness, she sighed and began to put away her laptop.

"As long as you have some coffee over there."

Mokuba grinned and jumped from his seat.

"I'll go make some now! See you in a few!" and he sprinted from the room, grinning wickedly. Mokuba Kaiba would get to the bottom of Blue's feelings for his brother, no matter what!

* * *

Mokuba maneuvered left, right, jutting out his elbows and twisting in his seat as his thumbs tried to work both the joystick and the T-pad on his controller. However, no matter his struggling, Blue (who was sitting perfectly still beside him) still managed to KO his fighter for the fifth time in a row.

"Man! I thought I had you that time," he griped as the screen flashed Blue's victory. The older girl beside him chuckled and took a swig from her coffee cup.

"You've seen my high scores at the arcade," Blue replied with a small smile. Mokuba huffed and made a face, puffing out his cheeks in irritation. Blue just kept grinning.

"You know, Seto is really good at this game, too," he offered up, watching for any reaction out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, that doesn't surprise me much. Wanna play something else?"

"We could all play together when he gets back," Mokuba pressed on, not letting Blue change the subject. "I don't remember the last time Seto played with me but I bet he would if you challenged him."

"Why do you say that?" Blue asked, genuinely intrigued by the idea.

"Well, I mean...you guys talk sometimes." Blue's eyebrows pulled in and her eyes narrowed into two steely slits.

"Your brother is my boss, Mokuba. I work for him," she said carefully, trying to be stern but gentle.

"But, we're friends, aren't we?" Mokuba asked, looking up into the older girl's face pleadingly.

"Well, yeah, we are. But tha-"

"So, you and Seto can be friends, too!" Mokuba interjected, smiling. "I mean, you two have a lot of the same interests and I've never seen Seto talk to someone like he does to you."

"It's not the same thing," Blue cut in with the hopes of thrusting away the new, niggling thoughts of any kind of relationship (friendly or otherwise) that she could have with the CEO. "Look, you're still young, but when you get to be older you'll understand that sometimes you have to keep people in certain...niches. I work for Kaiba and I have to maintain some kind of professional boundaries with him. And I'm sure he would tell you the same thing."

Mokuba visibly deflated and sank back into the sofa. Blue felt a little bad at crushing his hopes like that but she needed to make everything crystal clear, for Mokuba and herself.

"Ok. I get it. Sorry, Blue." The girl sighed and leaned back on her elbow, watching him carefully.

"It' just-" Mokuba began, looking down at his hands, "it's just, I think Seto is pretty lonely. And you guys get along so well that I thought, maybe…"

Mokuba glanced out of the corner of his eye, hoping to see something that would give away any glimpse of her true feelings. Blue was looking over his head, out the glass door and into the courtyard beyond.

"Mokuba," he finally looked over to her but she was still miles away, "sometimes, it's better that people are alone. It makes them stronger; and the world can be a hard place. When it really comes down to it, the only person you will ever be able to truly rely upon...is yourself."

Mokuba was blown away by her response. Not from the idea, itself, but the delivery and Blue's complete faith in her words. She very sincerely believed in her own strength, that she was a tall island standing alone in a vast sea. And Mokuba knew that Seto would completely agree.

They were perfect for each other. If only they could see what Mokuba could.

* * *

As soon as Seto had returned from his business brunch , Blue excused herself to her room and locked the door without so much as glancing at the CEO's face. Her conversation with Mokuba had made her begin questioning everything that made been plaguing her since Seto Kaiba had walked into her life.

So, instead of facing her problems, she had chosen to ignore them and work. She had completed the basic interfacing for the chess program, tested it with eight rounds of the game, and was now trying to figure out what updates she could make to her Duel Specs app when there was a knock on her door. Sighing, Blue shook out her long hair and stalked to the door. She expected to find Seto or Mokuba but, instead, was greeted by two blonde haired maids, decked out in classic french maid outfits with poofy skirts and creepy smiles.

"What the-?!" Blue was cut off as the women barrelled in, grabbed her up by her arms, and began their work.

It all flashed by in a blur: the dress being tugged on, her long locks being pulled back into a collected chignon at the back of her head, eyeliner and mascara and lipstick. Then, it was all over and Blue found herself being shoved into the Kaiba brother's suite. Stumbling in her new heels, Blue finally got her bearings.

"Wow, Blue. You look great!" Mokuba said in greeting as Roland helped him straighten his black bow tie. The girl fumed.

"Mokuba...what the hell is going on?" Blue asked, her words dripping with acid but her tone low. Mokuba was unfazed.

"We have the big dinner tonight; black tie. Didn't Seto tell you?" The younger Kaiba was oh-so-innocent.

"No. As usual, no one has told me anything," she deadpanned, the vein in her forehead pulsing in irritation. Mokuba stepped away from Roland and smiled.

"But you look so pretty, Blue. Don't you think so, Seto?" The question was directed behind the girl so she turned to see the older Kaiba exiting the bedroom, fiddling with a cufflink.

Seto looked up to reply and forgot how to breath. Blue was a vision in her black gown, the slinky material flowing over her curves delicately. It was a simple dress; thin straps held up the rounded neckline while the skirt slipped over her hips before trailing down to the floor like a dark waterfall. The color, coupled with the stark contrast of her hair, made her blue eyes stand out like two glittering sapphires.

"Kaiba!" Seto was yanked from his reverie as Blue snapped at him, her eyes icing over in anger. "Hello? You gonna answer me?"

Seto scowled and looked back to his cuffs, fiddling with them in an effort to regain his composure.

"We have an event," he retorted. "Roland, is the limo out front?"

"Yes, sir," the man servant replied. Nodding, Seto turned and walked out of the room. Blue followed.

"Could you, _seriously,_ not have warned me about all this? Not even an email?" she demanded, lifting the hem of her dress so as to keep up with Seto's long strides. "And where did this dress come from?"

"You needed it," the CEO retorted, glancing behind him carefully. "Don't worry about paying me back for it."

Growling, Blue continued to trail behind her boss, and Mokuba behind her, until they all reached the entrance to the hotel and the awaiting limo. Roland had sprinted ahead to open the door but Seto was not the first to enter. Instead he waited by the side of the car and looked back to Blue expectantly. With a roll of her eyes, she slid into the limo with Seto following her and Mokuba after him.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered, pulling at the material of her dress anxiously.

"What is it with you and fidgeting?" Seto asked and cast her a side-eyed glare. Blue pursed her lips and gave him her full attention.

"This dress cost as much as my rent," she snapped.

"I said you didn't have to pay me back."

"Not the point, Kaiba! I feel completely blindsided here!" Blue finished her little outburst by sitting back and looking out the window, dejected and angry. "Is there anything _else_ I need to know about?"

Seto growled, ready to put Blue in her place, but Mokuba's nudging stopped him. Looking down to his other side, Mokuba held up his cell phone for his brother to see a typed out message.

 _I think Blue is nervous. Maybe she needs some encouragement?_

The CEO almost rolled his eyes but Mokuba gave him another nudge and a pleading look. Sighing, Seto turned back to Blue, who was still looking out the window.

"There is going to be a press conference at the end of the night. I...want you there so you can answer some questions about the PersaComm project." Blue turned her head to look at her boss. His face was stern, his navy eyes guarded and serious. Deciding it was as close to an apology as she would ever get out of him, Blue sighed and shifted to look at him.

"That's everything?"

"Yes," Seto replied. "That's everything." Blue brushed a stray hair from her face and sat up a little straighter.

"Good. Thank you for telling me."

Seto scoffed, a smirk tugging at his mouth, and Blue shot him another glare but her anger was beginning to wane.

"I'm still not happy about the dress," she added as a last barb.

"Too bad. You look quite nice in it." Seto grinned ever so slightly at the blush that crept across Blue's cheeks at the comment. While the compliment was true, and Seto did think his female employee looked lovely, his delivery was so laced with his usual arrogance that Blue felt certain he was teasing. Huffing, the girl sat back in her seat and proceeded to ignore her boss for the remainder of the ride; something that Seto both did and did not want.

* * *

"Are those _cameras_ up there?" Blue cast wide eyes up at Seto. The girl was currently leaning over him to see outside of Mokuba's window at the gaggle of flashing lights their car was coming up to.

"Yes," the CEO snipped and attempted to sit even farther back into his seat, away from her. Blue narrowed her eyes at him and leaned in closer.

"I thought you said you told me everything…"

"It's just a few cameras by the carpet-"

"Like a _red_ carpet?" Blue interjected, still seething.

"I think it's blue," Mokuba tried to add helpfully. Blue groaned and sat back in her seat, resuming her previous fidgeting with her skirt.

"Anything else? Is there gonna be dancing or something?" she asked, her voice edged with the slightest trace of panic.

"Actually, Seto doesn't like to dance," Mokuba piped up again, though this did little to placate his female companion's nerves.

"It's only a few feet from the car to the door. You don't have to answer any questions or stop for pictures," Seto finished as the car finally came to a stop. Lights flashed brightly beyond the tinted windows. Blue took a deep breath as Roland exited the front seat and made his way around the limo to open the door for the trio.

"You got this, Blue," Mokuba offered along with a thumbs up as Roland opened the door and the murmur of the crowd grew louder. Seto only felt Mokuba slide out of the car ahead of him; he watched as Blue took another deep breath and gave one last tug to her dress.

"Alright, let's go."

Seto nodded and slid out of the car. He was instantly assailed by cheers, shouted questions, and flashbulbs.

Then, Seto Kaiba did something that no one, not even him, could have ever seen coming: he turned back to the car and offered his hand to Blue.

"What are you doing?" the girl retorted, suspicious but keeping her voice low as she stared at the CEO's outstretched hand like it was a snake preparing to bite.

"Walk in with me." Seto's hushed command was not as stern as he would have liked but he could think of no other way to phrase his impulsive desire to have Blue on his arm. He mentally reasoned that he was merely extending the barest bit of courtesy to his employee; this had nothing to do with any untoward feelings he may, or may not, have.

Blue was also weighing the pros and cons of this new development. She told herself she wasn't afraid to emerge into this crowd unescorted. The flashing cameras and borderline harassing questions were not terrifying to her in the least. In the end, she reasoned that her allowing her boss to escort her inside would, in no uncertain terms, have anything to do with how she was beginning to feel. This was all business.

Lightning struck again as Blue placed her hand in Seto's. The cacophony of the onlooking crowd fell into a mere murmur as Blue stepped from the car and up to Seto's side. The CEO wound her arm in his and, sharing a brief glance at one another, the pair made their way up the blue carpet and into the venue.

"What's your relationship to Mr. Kaiba?"

"Mr. Kaiba, is this your date for the event?"

"Miss, how did you and Mr. Kaiba meet?"

The questions fell on deaf ears. All Seto could feel was the warmth radiating from Blue. All she could feel was the stability of his arm wrapped through hers. All too soon, it was over and the doors closed behind them. Blue was the first to pull away; though, she felt colder without the connection.

"Feel free to mingle and talk to some shareholders. I'll come find you later." Seto quickly turned away from her and marched away, the hand that had lead Blue inside balled into a fist.

"Later," she murmured and watched her boss's retreating back.

* * *

"Looks like everyone is pleased with how the event turned out, Seto," Mokuba said as he sidled up to his brother's side. Dinner had long since been cleared away and, now, the guests were mingling and drinking heartily. "And Blue seems to have a fan club."

The older Kaiba did not reply, for he could clearly see the group of men and women surrounding his latest employee. Laughing, talking, drinks in hand, they all seemed smitten with her. Seto felt a twinge of jealousy at how Blue was speaking with some of shareholders: smiling, laughing at their (he assumed poor) attempts to joke.

"Seto?" The CEO looked back to his brother. "You ok?"

"Mr. Kaiba, the press room is nearly full. Do you want to proceed?" Roland's appearance at his elbow kept Seto from replying to Mokuba's question.

"Yes, we'll be along in a minute. Mokuba," he turned away from the two,"you're in charge while Blue and I are in the press room."

Seto didn't hear his brother's reply as he stalked across the room. Pushing past several men, Seto finally broke into the circle around Blue.

"My apologies, everyone, but I need my employee for some press questions," he said, his tone low. Blue, wine glass in hand, met his gaze as he stepped up beside her.

"Time already, Kaiba?" she asked, her own voice light and a smile across her pink lips. "You'll have to excuse me, gentlemen."

"Aw! You'll come see us before the night is over, right?" The question came from a middle aged man with light brown hair and a charming smile. He was shorter than Seto by several inches and not nearly as imposing.

"I'll try, Mr. Hamada," Blue replied, her voice sugary sweet. "I am working tonight, though."

"Surely, you could find a few minutes to see us?" Another man piped up, his smile eager. His ash blond hair was unruly and falling into his green eyes. He was clearly the son of a shareholder, as he did not appear to be much older than Seto.

"We really have to go. Excuse us," Seto interjected and took Blue's half empty wine glass from her hand, giving it to a passing waiter. Blue did her best not to jump at the rush of tingles that assaulted her as Seto's palm pushed gently against her back. Giving a smile to the now deflated men, she let Kaiba lead her away from the group.

"Thank god. I thought you were gonna leave me in there all night," Blue muttered through a tight smile. Seto's jealousy slipped away to be replaced with confusion.

"I thought you were enjoying their company," he mused as they stepped through a door and into a small side room. Blue stepped away from Seto and gave him a bemused glare.

"Please. If I had to listen to one more story about someone's freakin' yacht, I was going to start ripping my own hair out."

"Yachts aren't impressive?" he teased and leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Do you have a yacht?" Blue bit back, smirking. Being away from the crowded room was lightening her mood gradually.

"I'm more of a jet guy," he replied. Roland peeked his head in, knocking on the door softly.

"Mr. Kaiba," he greeted and stepped into the room. "I've got the persacomms, sir."

"Hey, buddy," Blue greeted her little dragon with a smile and extended her arm out. Lil-Blue moved out of Roland's arms and climbed up his mistress's to settle on her shoulder. Seto did the same and let Nike rest on his shoulder as well. "Photo op?"

"Yes, Miss Blue," Roland answered and turned to his employer. "I can go make the announcement now, sir."

"Go ahead," Seto allowed and Roland scurried through the pair of double doors on the opposite side of the room. Flashes of light and voices filtered through briefly before the door closed back.

"Ready?" The CEO asked as he stepped past Blue and to the doors Roland had just exited. She joined him with a nod. Seto watched her as she ran her fingers over the dragon on her shoulder.

Typically, Seto would have felt revulsion at anyone who had treated his dragon, in any form, so familiarly. However, when Blue did it, he didn't mind. She looked right with the small blue eyes at her side.

"Kaiba?" she said and turned her attention to him. Seto met her eyes and Blue plowed on, her stomach giving a little twist. "I just wanted to say thank you; for giving the PersaComms a chance, that is."

Seto felt himself melt just the tiniest bit as she smiled at him. Her thanks seemed so genuine and a warmth he didn't know he could feel started to spread through him.

"I should thank you," he said softly, to which Blue could only reply with a furrowed brow of confusion.

"I know how hard it is to trust others with something that you pour heart and soul into." For the first time in many years, a smile slipped across Seto's lips. "You put your faith in my company to make the PersaComms great and that is something I'll never forget."

Seto's words touched a part of Blue that she hadn't felt in years; a part of herself that she had locked away a long time ago. And that smile! He looked so...so…

The doors opened before them, cameras flashing and yelled questions assaulting the pair. However, neither felt any trepidation as they entered the room. They had their dragons and they had each other.

* * *

 _Author's note: I know, I know, and I'M SO SORRY ABOUT MAKING YOU ALL WAIT! I've been writing this story out of order so the middle chapters are mostly finished while this chapter took way too long to complete. Please leave a review if you like and let me know what you think so far! Thanks for reading!  
_


	13. Chapter 13

Monday morning rolled around, bright and sunny, and Blue was lounging in her pajamas on her couch. After the long weekend in Tohoku, she had requested to work from her home lab for a few days, citing that she wanted to hammer out some coding issues. Seto granted her request as long as she promised to email him regular updates.

Blue would never admit that she really wanted to work from home because she had found her mind drifting one too many times to the CEO's attractive face over the course of the weekend. The dinner had been the last straw. She was getting too friendly and she needed some space.

So, there she was: mug of hot coffee in hand, Blue watched mini-Blu scroll through the news from his perch on her coffee table. She smirked as she watched the crystal clear hologram before her, her mind starting to spin with new ideas to improve the layout. She relaxed into her old ways, content.

Her moment of peace was short lived as Joey Wheeler barged through her door.

"Blue! What the hell is this?!" The blonde boy all but shrieked as he stomped into the apartment, slamming the door open and waving around a glossy backed magazine. Blue sighed and sipped her coffee. This was hardly new behaviour for her roommate's brother.

"Joey? Is everything ok?" Serenity asked as she stumbled from the hallway, slipping on her school blazer hastily. Joey turned to his sister, eyes blazing.

"Did you know about this?" the boy accused, thrusting the magazine at his sister. Serenity took the publication and glanced at the cover.

"Wow, Blue! You look so pretty!" Serenity gushed and turned the magazine around. Blue was a little astounded to see a picture of herself with Seto, each looking at the other with small smiles. Blue knew exactly what she had been saying to the young CEO, how she had thanked him for the opportunity to make the PersaComm. Her heart thumped as the memories began to play back through her mind for the millionth time. Backstage, the hot spring, the few moments in close proximity right before they entered the press room.

"So I went to the Kaiba Corp. shareholders meeting and they took some pictures. Big whoop," Blue bit out, deciding to squash the little flutter in her stomach at the memory of her boss's smile. A smile that had been meant just for her and, somehow, been plastered on the cover of a magazine. Joey was not so easily appeased.

"Uh huh. Then why does the article say-" Joey snatched back the magazine from his sister and flipped through it, "'Could Japan's most eligible bachelor be off the market? Seto Kaiba steps out with his new developer in style.'"

"Because it's stuff like _that_ that makes idiots, like you, buy this garbage," Blue retorted as she snatched up the magazine herself. Tucking the tabloid under one arm and tossing Serenity's book bag to her with the other, Blue began ushering the two teens out of her apartment.

"So, nothing is going on with you and rich boy?" Joey demanded, barring the door and looking to Blue for answers.

"He's my boss, nitwit. Now, go to school." And with that, she shut the door in the siblings' faces. Once she was sure Serenity wouldn't be coming back in, Blue went to her room and closed the door softly. She glanced down at the glossy cover, her eyes roving over the picture. Sighing, she threw the magazine down on her bed and changed clothes. She didn't have time to entertain such silly fantasies.

* * *

Across the city, the same magazine cover was staring up at Seto Kaiba. Mokuba had taken it upon himself to collect every newspaper and magazine in the city that so much as mentioned the Kaiba Corp. Shareholders' event.

"I think this one is the best," the younger Kaiba said as he pointed to the cover, smiling. "Blue looks really pretty in that one."

Seto felt his eye twitch at the comment. Just when he thought he would get some much needed respite from the presence of his top employee, his brother had to come waltzing in with all these reminders. The older brother cast a steely eyed gaze on his sibling.

"I know what you are up to, Mokuba; and it's not going to work."

"What do you mean, big brother?" Oh, that innocent look wasn't going to fool him.

"Blue is my employee," Seto explained and say back in his chair. "That's all she is and all she ever will be, okay?"

Mokuba felt his heart sink a little at the statement. He knew, better than anyone, that when Seto set his mind on something, there was hardly ever a chance of changing it. Sighing, he slunk down onto the couch across from his brother's desk.

"Whatever you say, Seto."

* * *

Four days. It had been four days and Seto had had enough.

"Roland, we are making a stop on the way home," Seto barked as he slid into the limo after Mokuba.

"Where to, sir?" Roland asked, genuinely confused. Seto Kaiba was not one to deviate from his usual schedule.

"Blue's apartment. You know the address so get moving." Roland squeaked out a "Yes, sir!" and thrust the car into drive.

"Why are we going to see Blue, Seto?" Mokuba piped up, eyeing his brother carefully.

"Because apparently I need to explain to my employee that she can't just work from home and that she is, in fact, required to show up at Kaiba Corp. at least some of the time," he growled.

"I thought you said she was emailing you?" Mokuba pressed. Seto glanced down at his phone in response.

 _Yeah, emailing me at three am and making no damn sense,_ the young CEO internally complained.

Blue had not so much as made an appearance at Kaiba Corp since her return from Tohoku and her emails, which had started out concise and professional, had slowly become almost unintelligible. He could feel it; something was wrong.

"We're here, sir."

"Keep the engine running. I'll be back soon," Seto commanded as he all but leapt from the car, his irritation fueling him. Mokuba scampered out behind him. Seto stabbed the buzzer angrily and waited for Blue or Serenity to answer, but nothing happened.

"Maybe they aren't home?" Mokuba suggested. Seto, however, was not so easily deterred. To the young CEO's great luck another resident was leaving the building. Brushing past the individual and ignoring the young man's yelp of protest, he steered himself to the stairwell. Both brothers descended the flight quickly with Mokuba almost jogging to keep up with his older brother's long strides. As they reached the basement level and swung open the door into the long hallway, Seto and Mokuba were met with the sound of a familiar and pissed off voice.

"I told you to leave me alone while I'm working!"

"You've been down here for too long and you have to-"

"I don't _have_ to do shit!"

The brothers followed the arguing voices of Serenity and Blue toward the gaping door to Blue's lab. Just as they pulled even to the entry though, a paper cup came flying out and collided harshly with the wall, sending coffee splattering everywhere.

"Oh, wow," Mokuba muttered with a flinch.

"Blue, please!"

Seto turned from the mess and glanced into the room. Serenity and Blue had their backs to them, the latter facing her work counter and her shoulders tense.

"I already said no, so go away!" Blue cried out and jerked around to glare at her roommate. Her eyes widened as her gaze fell on Seto in the doorway. "What the fuck are _you_ doing here?"

Serenity turned suddenly, her brown eyes watery. Seto scowled and stalked into the room.

"I'm here because someone thinks they are too good to come into work." Blue bristled at the accusation.

"I am working!" she argued back. Seto was floored at the girl's tone. Shouting, cursing, she looked a haphazard mess; her shirt was rumpled and there was a coffee stain on the front. This wasn't Blue's normal behavior; what the hell was wrong with her?

"She's been down here for four days straight," Serenity interjected, addressing Seto and praying he could be the voice of reason. "And she refuses to sleep."

 _Now I get it,_ Seto thought. He knew the signs of exhaustion all too well. Blue looked frazzled, her hair slipping from her ponytail and bags under her eyes. She was acting irrationally because she had worked herself to the point where she could no longer be reasoned with.

"I don't need sleep! I need to know where in this swamp of fucked up code is-WOAH!" Blue's argument was cut off as Seto suddenly swept her up over his shoulder and turned to march out of the lab.

"Lock up here. I'll take her upstairs," Seto ordered to Serenity and Mokuba, ignoring the protests of the angry woman he was now toting down the hall. Serenity nodded mutely as she watched the young CEO depart.

"What the damn hell?! Kaiba, you put me down this instant!" Blue yelled as she wriggled in his grasp, smacking at his back and kicking her legs in an effort to escape his grasp; but Seto did not comply with her demands until they reached her apartment, where he dumped her unceremoniously on the couch.

"God damnit, I was working! What gives you the right?" Blue jumped up from the couch and prodded Seto in the chest with a finger.

"I am your boss," Seto bit back, his voice low. "You are no use to me if you are too exhausted to get the job done. Now, go to bed."

"I don't need your meddling," Blue replied and moved to march around Seto and straight back to her lab; his hand shot out and grasped her upper arm to stop her.

"You are being ridiculous," Seto growled. "You obviously do need my meddling if you are too blind to see when you have reached your limit."

"Who the fuck asked you?!" Blue retorted and swung around to stare down the taller man. "I'm getting the work done so who cares-"

"I care!" Seto interrupted, angrily, and wrapped his other hand around Blue's arm. Even in her frazzled state, Blue fell silent as Seto abruptly pulled her closer to him; so close that their noses were almost touching. Her own hands came up to push against his chest out of instinct. Blue eyes clashed, the air became heavy with the tension of anger and frustration.

The girl's exhausted mind tried to analyze all the different things she was experiencing at this moment. The heat coming from Seto's palms, taking the chill from her skin where they were wrapped around her arms. The softness of his black turtleneck beneath her fingers. She could feel herself starting to crash; the need to rest, which she had been actively fighting for the last two days, slammed into her like a freight train. For half a moment, she honestly considered just leaning her head forward to lie on her boss's broad shoulder.

Seto felt Blue begin to relax under his burning hands. He spoke, his voice low and calm.

"You have to take care of yourself."

Blue kept her eyes locked with Seto's for another moment longer before she finally blinked, looked away, and shrugged out of his grasp. Her brilliant mind had come back just long enough to help her regain her carefully built walls around her emotions.

"Fine. I'll go to bed," she muttered in defeat and glared at the floor. Seto straightened, pulling his hands back to his sides. He watched Blue sway on her feet for a second and even briefly considered carrying her to her bed. However, Blue turned away from him and slipped around the side of the couch, headed for her room.

"I expect you at Kaiba Corp. on Monday." She waved him off and stalked off to her bedroom, the door shutting behind her with a soft click.

Serenity and Mokuba arrived a beat later.

"Did Blue go in her room?" Serenity asked. Seto nodded and moved to the door.

"Keep her out of her lab for the rest of the weekend. If she argues, call me." Serenity muttered a quick 'thank you' as Seto swept out of the apartment and towards the elevator, Mokuba trailing behind him.

"Is Blue gonna be ok?" Mokuba asked softly as he and his brother descended to the lobby.

"She'll be fine. She just needs to sleep for a while." Seto's response was soft; Mokuba had expected him to be more angry but the look on his face could almost be considered relief.

* * *

The Kaiba brother's gone, Serenity peeked into Blue's dark room to make sure the girl wasn't secretly working on her laptop. There was no glow coming from the mountain of blankets and Serenity could just make out the soft breathing of her roommate. Giving a sigh of relief that Blue was finally resting, she quietly closed the door.

In the bed, Blue was indeed sound asleep and cuddling deeply into her blankets. On the far side of the bed, peeking out beneath the corner of her pillows, was the tabloid picture of her and Seto.

* * *

Friday came and went with nothing of merit to show for it. Seto thought about calling to check on Blue but he resisted the urge; although, it did bug him endlessly.

Saturday morning came and Seto found himself at a quaint bistro in downtown Domino. He and Mokuba were scheduled to test a new attraction at KaibaLand but the younger brother had practically begged his sibling to go out for breakfast first. Of course, Seto couldn't say no to that.

"Hm...chocolate chips pancakes or crepes?" Mokuba mused as he perused his menu. "Or do I want a pastry?"

"You're going to get sick if you eat all that sugar." The warning was halfhearted at best. Mokuba scowled and shot his brother a look but Seto wasn't paying attention as he scrolled through his phone.

"Has Blue emailed you?" The CEO looked up at the question.

"No, why?"

Mokuba shrugged and his expression softened.

"I'm just a little worried. Do you think she got enough rest?"

"I'm sure she's fine, Mokuba," Seto retorted, uncomfortable with the ball of tension growing in his chest at the mention of the girl. He looked back at his phone, signaling that he wanted to drop the issue.

"Can we see her before we go to KaibaLand?"

"No."

"Well, that'll be hard, Seto, cause she's right over there."

Seto's head snapped up again to see that Mokuba was grinning. The younger brother pointed past him to the entrance, causing Seto to turn around.

Mokuba has been correct. Blue was standing in line at the quick service counter by the entrance, her phone in hand as she waited her turn. She was dressed casually: boots, shorts, a tank top under her Kaiba Land jacket. Her hair was pulled back into a half ponytail but otherwise free.

"Hey! Blue!" Seto resisted the urge to kick his little brother at the outburst. Mokuba, oblivious to his brother's discomfort, waved enthusiastically as his friend looked up to see who was calling her. Her eyes went wide as she spotted the brothers; clearly she hadn't been expecting them. "Hey, come sit with us!"

"Mokuba!" Seto whispered harshly at the invitation and turned back to the boy. Mokuba just smiled and sat back in his seat.

"She's coming over."

"Mokuba, I swear to god-"

"Just be cool."

"Mokuba!"

"Hey, Mokuba. Kaiba," Blue greeted as she came up behind her boss. Seto cringed and cast a glance over his shoulder. He appraised her quickly, noting that she looked much better than the last time he saw her. "What's up?"

"We were just about to order. Why don't you join us?" Blue stiffened at the invitation as memories of her last interaction with Seto began to surface.

"I'ld hate to intrude," she mumbled and swiped a lock of hair from her face, exposing that her knuckles were wrapped tightly in a white bandage.

"Oh no! What happened?" You could always count on Mokuba to ask after the well being of his friend. Blue sighed and looked down at her hand.

"It's nothing. I just…punched Serenity's obnoxious brother this morning." Blue instantly regretted telling them the truth. She thought for certain that Seto would find her impulsive and weak now. She needed to get out of there before she could do anymore damage to her reputation!

"Oh, well you have to sit down now," the CEO chuckled and slid a chair out with his foot. "I have to hear the whole story."

Baffled, Blue finally met her boss's gaze. She had expected to see disgust or annoyance but, rather, the real emotion she saw shining in those blue eyes could only be considered humor. What did she have to lose?

"If you insist," she mumbled and took her seat between the brothers. Seto smirked and sat back in his chair, giving the girl his full attention.

"Ok, so what did Wheeler do?"

* * *

Somehow, Blue's tale of how Joey had barged into her room and abruptly aroused her from her sleep (resulting in a swift right hook to his face) had divulged into an invitation to spend the day with the Kaiba brothers. Seeing as how Blue was in no mood to go home and deal Serenity or her friends, she had accepted.

One meal, a limo ride, and a tour through the newest Kaiba Land attraction later, she found herself enjoying the breeze from the balcony of the Fantasy Castle. Well, nearly. While a normal person would have been content to partake of the sights, Blue seemed hyper focused on particular area; her brows were pulled down over her eyes, concentrating.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Seto queried as he stepped up to her side. Blue pointed to the distance, straight at the woodsy, underdeveloped area she had been pondering.

"Debating what you could put there. It's not quite large enough for a full attraction building but maybe an outdoor...what?" her thought process ground to a halt as she noted the odd look Seto was giving her.

"You work too much."

"Oh, that is rich coming from you!" She scoffed as her lips pursed in irritation. "You're working on a Saturday."

"No, I tested a new ride and now I'm done. I'm not doing anymore work today or tomorrow," Seto clarified, his brow ticked up. "Astounding. I think you actually work than I do."

"Hey, I like to work," Blue retorted, turning her back to him.

"Oh, yes; you like to work yourself to the point of exhaustion." The barb stung but Blue couldn't find it in herself to argue against him. She knew she had pushed herself too far. It was her own fault that Seto had to interfere.

"Where's Mokuba?" she asked after a moment and glanced back out across the park.

"He wanted to get lunch for all of us. He'll be back shortly." Blue nodded absently, not looking to Seto. The CEO decided to plow on. "He was worried about you."

Blue sighed and reached up to fiddle with a long strand of hair.

"I'm sorry you had to see all that. Not my best moment."

Seto scoffed and turned to lean his back against the low wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That's not the first time Mokuba has seen something like that," he admitted. "I know what it's like; to get so caught up in the build that time doesn't seem like a factor anymore. You just want to keep at it and keep pushing until…"

"Until it's just like you imagined," Blue finished. Her heart gave a thump as she glanced over her shoulder to see his face. "So, you've done it, too?"

"A few times," Seto nodded. "After the last time, Mokuba made me swear to take more time off. Kaiba Land was all but finished at the point so, I've kept to that promise."

"Must be nice to have a sibling like Mokuba," Blue added and turned around so she was leaning against the wall, too. "I don't remember the last time I took time off." She looked to the blue sky above before carrying on.

"I started computer development when I was twelve. Sold my first app two years later, started working for Duke not long after that." A breeze wafted by, ruffling her hair so Blue had to move it back behind her ear. "I've always associated working with survival. Now that I'm in a stable place... I guess, I'm not really sure how to change that attitude."

Her words shocked him. Blue was just like him. She poured herself into her work not only for the thrill, but because she had to for her own sake. However, while he had Mokuba, Blue had no one she could lean on when she began to crumple under the pressure. She had no one to share her triumph with or her frustration.

Suddenly, Seto wanted nothing more than to change that.

"Well, I can't have you working yourself like that again," he said quickly, earning a confused look from his employee. "So, as part of our business agreement, you are now required to take the weekends off, effective immediately."

"What?!" Blue gaped. "Just what, exactly, do you expect me to do all day?"

"Considering that Mokuba hasn't stopped talking about Tohoku and how much he enjoyed you being there, I would assume he will be inviting you to hang out quite a bit."

"And you're ok with that?" she demanded. Seto smirked at the girl's flustered face.

"Sure. Why not?"

* * *

 _Author's note: ...another chapter...so, what do you think? PLEASE LET ME KNOW! It helps me to write faster! ;)  
_


	14. Chapter 14

"They're going into the final turn, last chance for items, who will take first place and who will be subjected to a heartbreaking defeat?" Mokuba bounced on the couch, holding his Wii remote like a microphone as he acted as commentator.

"You're going down, Kaiba," Blue said as she ran her cart through the glowing cube ahead of her. The ticker scrolled in the top right corner as Yoshi continued speeding along the rainbow road. Finally, she was granted an item: a banana peel. Scowling, Blue released the item behind her. Oh, well; she was in first and the finish line loomed before her. She was going to win!

Suddenly, something collided with her little lizard avatar, causing her entire character to go flying off the track and into space. This allowed for Wario, Seto's avatar, to come sailing past and secure the win.

"Oh! And it's all over! With a hail mary, blue shell attack, Seto has secured the win!" Mokuba cheered as the finish line music played.

"What was that you were saying?" the CEO asked smugly from the other side of his brother. Blue was still staring at the screen, jaw dropped in shock.

"I can't believe you blue shelled me at the last possible moment," she finally said with a laugh. "What's the score, now?"

The younger Kaiba leapt from his seat, opening the space between Seto and Blue, and consulted a small whiteboard on the wall.

"Seto's in the lead for racing by two, but Blue's still winning in Mortal Combat by three," he said as he picked up a blue marker to note his brother's latest victory. "And I've continued to smoke the both of you in tennis and bowling."

"How did he pull that off again?" Blue asked her boss as she set down her own remote, her tone light. Seto scoffed and sat back on the couch, casting the girl a smirk.

"I don't know how he beat me but, considering you have the hand-eye coordination of a six year old, his defeating you is feasible."

"Well, then what's your excuse for losing, what was it? Oh, that's right, _four times_ when we played Settlers of Catan," Blue shot back with a haughty smile.

"At least I don't suck at Monopoly."

"We've only played that twice and Mokuba won last time."

"Well, then, I guess it's time for a rematch."

"You're on!"

Mokuba smiled as he watched the banter flow between Blue and his brother. To any outsider, it would appear that the two were arguing; however, the younger Kaiba knew better. The sight before him had become the standard in just a few short weeks. Saturday afternoons in the Kaiba mansion had now become dedicated to gaming between Seto, Mokuba, and Blue. Video games, board games, even one day dedicated to ultimate frisbee on the expansive back lawn.

"Mokuba, you want the racecar again?" Blue asked, pulling the boy from his thoughts. Nodding, he joined the two young adults on the couch, sitting between them. "Cool. I get the top hat."

"Why do you get the top hat?" Seto interjected as he began to dole out the starting funds to each player.

"Because you always get the wheelbarrow."

"True. I need something to roll all my money around in." Blue rolled her eyes but laughed as she took up the dice.

"That wheelbarrow is gonna be a lot lighter this go round," she promised as she juggled the dice in her palm.

"We'll see about that."

Mokuba looked between his brother and his friend. He could not suppress the smile on his face. For too long, his home had been shrouded in a cloud of dark memories; but, now, Blue had brought a light into their lives, chasing the darkness away. Not only was he happy, but he could see that his brother was, too.

This was the family he had always dreamed of.

Well, almost.

As the game began, Mokuba looked again between the two. While Seto and Blue had progressed to friends, he could see that they were still guarding themselves from the other; still walking that narrow line between business and something more. Blue always greeted the younger brother with pat on the head or an affectionate fist bump but he had never seen her and Seto so much as shake hands. They always sat far apart from each other, too.

Mokuba knew he could make them see what he saw.

They just needed a little push.

* * *

Almost two months later, Mokuba found his opportunity in the most unlikely of ways.

"Wow, it's almost as cold in here as it is outside," Mokuba huffed as he entered Blue's office at Kaiba Corp. The girl waved at him from behind her desk, her eyes glued to her dual computer monitors. "Aren't you cold?"

"I've got a jacket," Blue mumbled in reply while Mokuba took a seat on her desk. She finally looked up at him. "I'm sorry, does my desk look like a chair?"

Mokuba laughed and hopped off to sit on the only other chair in the small office. Lil-Blue peeked its head around the monitors to look at the small boy.

"Hello, Mad Man," the little dragon chirped and flexed its wings.

"You taught him my nickname!" Blue smiled and turned to face him.

"It's part of his AI interface," she explained and gave the dragon a pat on the head. "That reminds me: where is your brother? I have an update for Nike."

"He has meetings all day. Seto wanted to get a bunch of stuff out of the way before we leave for the holidays."

"You two are taking a trip?" Blue asked and turned back to her computers. With as often as the young boy made an appearance, she had mastered the ability to converse and work simultaneously.

"Yeah, it's part of my three Christmas wishes. We'll be gone from the twenty-third until January second."

Blue ran the numbers in her head for a moment. That was ten days. Ten days without either of the Kaiba brothers. Was that good or bad?

"So, what are you doing for the holidays?" he asked and she fought the urge to sigh.

"Same thing I do every year, I guess: work."

"But, Kaiba Corp. will be closed for most of the week," Mokuba supplied with a cock of his head.

"I'll probably work from home, then."

"You don't want to go see your family?" There it was. The question she always hated around this time of year.

"I grew up in foster care; so, I don't have anyone to go see." Blue threw the truth out there as if she were commenting on the weather. Years of practice had perfected her poker face on the matter.

"Oh..." The response was timid at best. Mokuba hadn't known Blue was an orphan; but, it made sense. She never talked about any parents or siblings. In fact, now that he thought about it, he didn't know much at all about Blue's past. Which begged the question: did Seto know?

"You'll spend Christmas with Serenity, then?" he pressed softly.

"I think she and Joey are going to visit their mother." Blue neglected to mention the invitation her roommate had extended to her for such an occasion. She had declined, of course, feeling that the invitation was made more out of pity than a genuine desire to spend the holiday with her. Besides, Blue didn't feel right intruding on the small family's personal time. She was an outsider.

"So, you'll be all by yourself." It was a statement, not a question. Blue finally looked back to the boy to see his crestfallen face.

"No, I'll have Lil-Blue to keep me company," she said in an effort to lighten the mood. "Besides, I usually spend the holiday by myself so it's nothing new."

Mokuba nodded absently and stood to leave.

"I'll tell Seto to bring Nike down for that update before we leave."

"Thanks, Mad Man," Blue replied as the boy left her office. As the door clicked closed, she allowed herself a sigh and sat back in her computer chair, staring at her screens but not truly seeing them.

"Just you and me, buddy," she murmured and reached her hand out to her PersaComm. The little dragon laid its cold head on her hand and Blue found herself wishing for warmth instead.

* * *

By the time Mokuba had ridden the elevator back to his brother's top floor office, he had concocted a wonderful plan. He counted himself lucky that he caught Seto behind his desk between meetings.

"Seto?"

The CEO grunted in reply, his fingers tapping over his keyboard. Mokuba sidled up to the side of the large desk and traced his finger along the edge, trying to appear nonchalant. He needed to play his cards just right.

"I figured out what I want for my second Christmas wish..."

* * *

December 23rd.

Blue closed her office door behind her with a soft click before heading for the elevators. The R&D floor was quiet once again as much of her team had taken the day off for the holiday. She didn't mind. Just because she was alone for the holidays didn't mean she would keep her staff away from their families.

 _It'll be quiet at home, too,_ she thought bitterly. Serenity and Joey had departed the day before. They had both tried to persuade her to tag along once more, but she had been adamant in her denial. _Guess I can pick up some take out on the way home._

If there was one thing she would miss over the next few days, it would be Serenity's hot, home cooked meals. She glanced down at her phone as the elevator descended. No new emails. She figured Seto and Mokuba were long gone on their trip. Guess that made two more things she would miss.

Blue proceeded out through the front lobby, waving to the receptionist as she wished her "Happy Holidays!"

 _Yeah. Happy._

"Miss Blue!" Roland greeted her as she made her way outside. A limo was idling by the curb. After a beat of confusion, the girl groaned.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

* * *

Once again, Blue was driven to an awaiting jet and instructed to board while her luggage was stowed. Scowling, the girl climbed the stairs and entered the now familiar jet.

"Now, I know for a fact there are no Kaiba Corp. events until mid- January," she said upon setting her blue eyes on her boss and his kid brother. "What is going on?"

"Surprise! You're coming to Switzerland with us!" Mokuba cheered from his seat, smiling broadly and waving. Seto was beside him, sitting back with his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't seem excited or angry; merely stoic. The brothers waited for their friend's response. Blue just continued to stare at them both, her pale brows pulled in over her eyes. After a moment without a reply, they shared a look of concern.

"Blue? You ok?" Mokuba asked. The girl shook her head and rubbed at her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I had something crazy in my ear. Why am I here?"

"You're coming on vacation with me and Seto," Mokuba repeated with a laugh and jumped from his seat to run to her. "It was my second Christmas wish that you come, too."

"Aren't you a little young to be wishing for a girl for Christmas?" she asked incredulously, her face still stern. The younger boy merely shrugged, still smiling.

"It's a long flight, so I brought movies and games and-"

"No," Blue interjected. Mokuba faltered, his smile slipping away. Seto watched as his employee turned away from his brother to exit the plane.

"Blue? Wha-"

"Thank you, for the invite," she bit out. "...but I have to decline. Have nice trip."

"You think we just invite anyone to come on vacation with us?" Seto growled, irritation filling every syllable. "Where is your gratitude?"

Blue's hands balled into fists at her sides and she cast a steely eyed glare at her boss. Seto could practically see the rage rippling through her tense shoulders.

"I am not your charity case," she snarled and proceeded to march to the door.

Mokuba couldn't let her leave. He couldn't let the chance for he and Blue and Seto to all spend time together slip away. He wouldn't let it happen!

"Blue, please don't go!" the boy cried out and dove forward to wrap his arms around the taller girl's waist. She stiffened, halting in her departure, as he buried his face into her back. Even Seto was slightly shocked at his brother's behavior.

"Please...we really want you to come with us," Mokuba said tearfully, choking back the sudden onslaught of emotion as best he could. "Seto and I couldn't imagine having Christmas without you. Don't you want to spend it with us?"

"Mokuba,-" Blue started and glanced down at the young boy's head.

"I thought we were friends," the boy tacked on.

Blue took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder to the older Kaiba brother. Seto's gaze had softened, clearly something about Mokuba's actions had touched something in him. He glanced to her face wordlessly and Blue couldn't quite make out his expression. She fought off the shiver that came with his gaze.

She quickly ran through the cons: she had a lot of work to do, Serenity had no idea she would be gone, could she really be alone with the Kaiba brothers, especially Seto, for ten days? This was a recipe for disaster.

However, one thought broke through all the negative questions that swirled through her mind: for the first time in her life, Blue did not want to be alone for Christmas. Furthermore, she enjoyed the brothers company. She made a decision she hoped would not come back to bite her in the ass.

"Yeah, we are friends," she finally replied with a sigh and placed her hand on Mokuba's head. The boy turned his watery gaze up to her's. "What game are we playing first, then?"

A smile lit up the boy's face and he released his hold on Blue only to take her hand instead. Leading her to their seats, Mokuba detailed the entertainment for the night. The girl sat down beside her boss and glanced up into his face. Seto smirked and she felt a familiar flutter work through her stomach.

She prayed she had made the right choice.

* * *

Five hours into their flight, the trio had played six rounds of gin rummy (with Blue teaching the brothers the rules) and watched two movies. Mokuba had fallen asleep halfway through the second movie and was now snoring softly in his laid back chair. Blue carefully laid a blanket over him before moving towards the front of the plane.

"Mokuba is asleep," she informed Seto, who was scrolling through his laptop quietly. She watched him take a sip from his drink as she sat down across from him.

"He usually only makes it about three hours in before he konks out. You should be flattered he lasted five." Blue scoffed but smiled. The tension from her almost departure had long since evaporated and Seto seemed to have overlooked her little outburst. Maybe this trip would be good for her.

"Mr. Kaiba, could I get you another drink, sir?" The stewardess appeared, looking well groomed regardless of the late hour. Seto nodded without looking up. "And you, miss?"

"What are you having?" she asked her companion.

"Glen McKenna."

"I'll have the same. Neat."

"Yes, Miss." The stewardess bowed slightly and shuffled away to fetch their beverages. Blue sat back in her seat, with a soft sigh, and began to think what she could do to occupy her time. She glanced back to her boss to see him giving her a strange look.

"What?"

"You like scotch?" he asked, astounded.

"On occasion," she replied, with a shrug. "What are you working on?"

"Finalizing some component orders for when the PersaComm production starts at the first of the year. There's also the marketing campaign to sign off on, department budgets for next quarter, the launch event..."

"You're planning that already?" Blue asked as the stewardess returned with their drinks. "I thought we weren't launching for six more months."

"It's all preliminary at this stage," Seto admitted as he gave a quick nod to the stewardess before she departed once more. "I'm always at least five steps ahead though."

"Clearly," Blue agreed and took a swig from her glass. Her eyes widened slightly as the amber liquid slipped over her tongue. "Wow. That is smooth."

"It better be. That's six hundred a bottle."

"Only the best, eh, Kaiba?" she laughed and took another sip. "Must be nice to be the boss."

"Sometimes." She watched Seto drink from his own glass before he resumed his typing.

"Did Roland happen to grab my laptop?" she asked, taking another drink for herself. Seto smirked and reached into the seat beside him to produce the object.

"You think I would let you come with us and not expect you to get something accomplished?" Blue chuckled as she took the computer from him and proceeded to boot it up.

Settling into her seat, the two worked steadily for the next few hours. They chatted quietly every so often, the topics mostly consisting of work or programming or design. The stewardess returned several times to replenish drinks and drop off a bowl of soy beans for the two to enjoy.

At first, the stewardess had not been sure what to make of the strange girl or what role she played in the life of Seto Kaiba. She had not been on the flight to Tohoku but another flight attendant had filled her in. Rumors had circled naturally. However, as the late night drug on, she became convinced that there was nothing of interest between the two so she retired to the little kitchen to rest her tired feet.

Blue nibbled on a soybean pod, her eyes riveted on her screen. She set the husk aside and reached out take another. Seto, unfortunately, was reaching to the bowl as well.

A brush of fingers and the resulting shock of electricity brought the two back to reality. Blue eyes met, both wide in surprise. It was the expo again; it was the incident at Duke's arcade again. Energy, warm and tingly, was coursing over their hands and up their arms from just this tiny touch. The air suddenly became heavy with tension. Blue and Seto yanked their hands away from the shared bowl.

Uh oh.

"I think I'm gonna try to sleep for a while," Blue said suddenly, breaking the odd tension and closing her laptop. "G'night, boss."

"Goodnight," Seto murmured as the girl all but sprinted from the seat. He glanced down at his fingers, unsure what he felt or wanted. He laid his head back and pinched at the bridge of his nose, frustrated. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

Meanwhile, Blue found a seat at the very back of the plane, making sure she would be far away from her boss. Groaning quietly, she slunk into the seat and rubbed her fingers over her eyes.

 _I thought I was past all this!,_ she thought. She looked at her hand, the hand that had so recently brushed against his and sent tingles shooting up her arm.

It was official. Agreeing to this trip had been a bad idea. And, she had ten days to go.

With a sigh, Blue laid the seat back and closed her eyes. She willed herself to think of nothing; but a pair of steely blue eyes kept swimming through her mind.

A long ten days, indeed.

* * *

"Mr. Kaiba? Sir," Seto cracked one eye open to glare at the stewardess, who was standing in the aisle politely. His mind barely registered that the cabin was significantly lighter than he last remembered. Sunlight was filtering in through the windows, casting the space in a golden glow. "We will be landing in about twenty minutes, sir."

"Ok," he murmured after clearing his throat.

"Would you like me to wake Ms. Yuki and Master Mokuba?" Seto shook his head 'no' at the offer and rubbed at the crick in his neck. Sleeping upright in his seat had not agreed with his spine.

"Prepare for landing," he ordered and stood. The stewardess bowed and retreated while Seto moved down the aisle. He ducked into Mokuba's seat first.

"Mokuba…" he whispered and shook the younger boy's shoulder gently. Mokuba groaned and rolled over, swatting at his brother's hand.

"Ten more minutes," he begged sleepily. Seto suppressed a chuckle and gave the kid an affectionate pat on the head before standing again. Padding softly further down the aisle, he came upon Blue in her seat. She had tilted the seat back and stretched her legs out to cross at the ankle. Her hands were resting lightly on her stomach and her face was turned to the aisle. Eyes closed, breath even, she was still sleeping. He reached out to touch her on the shoulder, but paused. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he curled his hand into a fist and let it fall to his side.

"Blue, wake up," he said tersely and nudged her foot with his. The girl gave a groan and reached up to rub at her eyes. She opened one bleary eye to look at him.

"Are we there yet?" she asked with a yawn and ran a hand through her hair.

"Yes, we'll be landing in a few minutes, so get up," he said and marched back to the front of the plan.

"Someone's grumpy in the morning," Blue mused with a stretch.

"I heard that."

"I meant ya to!"

"Guys, it's too early to argue," Mokuba whined and poked his head out of his seat. He rubbed at one eye with a fist. Blue held back a fit of giggle at the smaller boy's hair.

"Looks like you slept well, bed head," she said as they both left their seats to join Seto at the front of the plane.

"Mmhm. Did you guys do anything fun last night?" he asked before plopping into the seat across from Seto. Blue took the seat next to the younger brother.

"Work." Blue and Seto said in unison, earning a surprised glance from the other. Thankfully, Mokuba was there to distract the two from any other memories of the night before.

"Work isn't fun," he grumped, making a face. "Seto, are we going to have breakfast soon?"

"We'll eat when we get to the chateau," came the terse reply.

"Chateau? That sounds fancy," Blue said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Seto got us a private chateau for the whole trip. It's got a game room, a movie theater, two hot tubs-" Mokuba continued to rattle off the many luxury amenities that awaited the trio.

Blue did her best not to groan. A private chateau; private, as in no other guests. As in, she was truly going to be stuck in the company of her boss, whom she was having some really annoying feelings towards.

"So, am I staying at a hotel or…?" Blue queried, praying that Seto would have set her up elsewhere.

"There are five bedrooms in the chateau. I'm not paying for your own hotel suite when there is plenty of room," Seto replied evenly.

"And you're our guest, Blue! Of course you'ld stay with us!" Mokuba piled on. The girl merely nodded and sat back in her chair while Mokuba continued to detail all the activities they would have available to them. Internally, Blue was begging for relief. And a big cup of coffee.

* * *

A half hour later, the pilot had landed the jet and the three travelers were preparing to disembark. The crew opened the door and a bitter cold breeze instantly assailed into the craft.

"Geez!" Blue yelped as the cold bashed into her, making her shiver harshly. "How cold is it out there?"

"About 15 degrees fahrenheit, miss," the stewardess answered politely. Blue scoffed incredulously as she rubbed her arms to warm herself. There was nothing she could have brought with her to combat this weather? She was going to be blue in color as well if she went out there.

Just as she was trying to think of some way to keep herself warm, a thick coat was dropped over her shoulders. Surprised, Blue looked behind her to see Seto pulling on a thick winter coat of his own.

"Where did this come from?" Blue asked as she pulled at the fur lined collar. The white fur was soft and warm; it also balanced well with the pale blue of the coat itself.

"You needed it," Seto replied as he took a navy scarf from the stewardess and wound it about his neck.

"Don't tell me you bought me a bunch of clothes," Blue groaned in dismay.

"Would you rather freeze?"

"...rich people," the girl huffed and shoved her arms through the sleeves. A pair of thick, pearly white mittens smacked the girl in the side of the head and Blue threw another irritated glare at her boss. Seto smirked and proceeded past her, out into the frigid Swiss morning with Mokuba on his heels. Blowing a lock out of her face, Blue tugged the mittens on and trudged outside.

Eyes widened, breath fogged in front of her face. Blue took in the mountains in the distance and the golden lighting of the morning as it broke before her. She looked skyward in wonder as flurries dropped softly from overhead. She stopped, overcome with wonder.

Mokuba slid into the waiting limo at the foot of the stairs first while Seto waited by the door. The CEO had intended for Blue to follow his brother before settling himself inside the warm vehicle, but she wasn't behind them. He glanced back to see her still at the top of the stairs.

"Blue?" he called and stepped back to the bottom of the stairs. The girl looked to him, seeming to snap out of a trance. "Are you coming?"

"It's snowing," she replied. Seto cocked his eyebrow and cast a dubious look around.

"Yeah, it is," he acquiesced, completely missing the point of this observation. Blue, seemingly oblivious to his attitude, scoffed softly and smiled before proceeding down the steps towards him.

Seto felt his stomach flutter. This wasn't one of Blue's usual small smiles, a slight tipping up of the mouth, or a smirk with fiery eyes. This was a genuine smile of sheer joy and wonder. She came to a stop on the last step, granting her enough height that Seto, for once, did not have to look down to see into her luminous blue eyes.

"I've never seen snow before," she admitted quietly, trying to stifle a giddy giggle. She looked back around them while Seto continued to take in her glow. "It's….it's-"

"Beautiful," Seto supplied.

"Exactly," she agreed and looked back to him, still smiling. Seto felt the corners of his own mouth tilt up; Blue's joy was infectious.

"Come on. It's cold," he ordered and stepped aside to let her pass. Without another word, Blue merely strolled past and slid herself into the car. Seto followed.

* * *

 _Author's note: I'm BBBBBBAAAAACCCCCCKKKKKKK! I have the next four chapters written and ready for posting; so...just leave a review and I will get to posting. :) Spoiler alert: things get interesting...;)_


	15. Chapter 15

"IT'S CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS! WAKE UP, BLUE!"

The girl woke with a jolt as she was assaulted within the confines of her blanket nest. Her assailant was none other than the youngest Kaiba brother, who was currently bouncing and jostling her mattress in an attempt to dig her out of her downy fortress.

"Ugh...don't people sleep in on holidays?" she grumbled and poked her tousled head d out of from beneath her covers. Mokuba smiled broadly at her sleepy eyes.

"Not on Christmas. Come on; there is breakfast in the sun room. Up, up, up!"

Somehow, Blue let herself be drug from the sweet serenity of her bed and dragged to the other side of the chateau, barely grabbing up Lil-Blue in the process. Down the stairs, past the kitchen, with it's bustling chef and maid, through the game room, and the two emerged into a glass encased porch. Golden sunlight poured through the surrounding rooms and Blue raised a hand to shield her eyes.

"I see Mokuba woke you, too," Seto said from his seat at a small table, a white ceramic mug in one hand and Nike perched on his shoulder.

"Is there coffee?" Blue yawned and padded across the room to take her seat across from her boss, Mokuba at her side. The maid from the kitchen, a young lady with blonde hair, seemed to magically appear with another white mug and a french press.

"Cream or sugar, miss?" Blue shook her head 'no' and leaned on one palm as she was served her steaming beverage.

"Breakfast will be out momentarily. How would you like your eggs?" the maid inquired, cheerful even at this early hour.

"Surprise me," the girl retorted and took a long swig, ignoring the scalding burn to her tongue. With a nod, the maid departed.

"And you called me grumpy," Seto chuckled from across the table, earning a bemused glare from the girl.

"Nice jammies," Blue remarked snidely. Seto's smirk slid away as he looked down at himself, clad in a white t-shirt and a pair of flannel navy plaid night pants.

"Someone wouldn't let me get dressed before we ate." Mokuba snickered from behind his glass of chocolate milk. He, too, was dressed in pajamas, his a dark green flannel with a spattering of kuribohs.

"We're having a pajama party," he offered, still smiling.

"It's too early to party," Blue groaned as she extended her arm to let Lil-Blue scuttle onto the table. "What time is it?"

"It is seven thirty three am, local time. Would you like to see the news?" Blue nodded and a hologram feed lit up before her face.

"Anything good?" Seto asked as he took a sip of his own coffee. Blue grunted and mirrored him.

"Just christmas fluff."

"Hmph. Well, what else can you expect?" he replied, sounding bored. "Nike, are there any new emails?"

"You have several new emails regarding the PersaComm development and a new report on next quarter's projections," Nike supplied with a metallic chirp. A hologram flickered to life before Seto and he silently read on.

"I was thinking we could go ice skating after breakfast," Mokuba said and looked hopefully between the two adults. Both Seto and Blue deigned to reply with more than a grunt or a murmur.

"There is a pond right down the hill. And the resort offers skates," he plowed on, looking between the two.

"They are estimating that the PersaComm processors will be ready for installation as of January twelfth. That's a full week later than Otori initially quoted," Seto grumbled angrily.

"And to think I had to re-write the driverware to accommodate their lousy tech," Blue piled on as the maid and chef arrived with breakfast. Eggs and croissants and pancakes, red and green for the holiday, soon crowded the small table. However, Blue and Seto continued only to consult their hologram screens and nothing else, eating absently.

"Seto, could you pass the potatoes?" Mokuba asked around a mouthful of pancakes. The older Kaiba did not reply, only mumbling to himself under his breath. "Seto?" Mokuba tried again. Again, no reply.

The younger boy looked to Blue in hopes of finding some acknowledgement; but, alas, she, too, was glued to her PersaComm. He looked between the two and his irritation began to flourish. He needed them to pay attention!

"Seto!" Mokuba demanded and sent his fork clattering against the china plate. This earned him a startled look from both his brother and Blue.

"I know what I want for my last christmas wish," he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Okay. What?" Seto replied. Blue watched on, interested to see what would be asked of her boss.

"I want...I want you to not work for the next twenty four hours," Mokuba finally said with a lift of his head. Seto's jaw dropped at the the demand and Blue sniggered behind her hand at her employer's dismay.

"Mokuba,-"

"That's my wish. No working, Period." Mokuba's tone rang with finality. Blue leaned against her palm, delighted at the entertainment she now had the privilege of witnessing.

"Too bad, boss," she chuckled; but, Mokuba was quick to turn on her.

"That goes for you, too," he stated. Now, it was Blue's turn to look appalled while Seto gloated.

"Woah, there! Why do I-"

"You didn't get me a christmas present," Mokuba rushed on. "And, we brought you with us. So, this can be my gift. No laptops, phones, or PersaComms until tomorrow morning."

"Wha-I," Blue sputtered and looked from brother to brother. "What, exactly, are we supposed to do all day?"

* * *

"You two sure you don't have anything else?" Mokuba almost resembled a disgruntly school teacher, ensuring that all contraband had been successfully apprehended from his unruly students; who, just so happened, to be his much older brother and friend.

Blue and Seto nodded as they stared sadly at the piled electronics on the table before them. Laptops, phones, and PersaComms has been all handed over to the youngest Kaiba brother in the spirit of the holiday.

"Great! Now, let's get down to the pond!" Grinning once more, Mokuba led the way out the side door of the sun room with his borrowed ice skates swinging from one hand. The younger boy hustled down the small slope and left his two companions to lag behind.

"He's so conniving," Blue muttered as she trudged through the snow, half a step behind Seto. "I wonder just where he picks that up."

Blue waited for Seto to reply; however, none came.

"Did you hear me?" All she earned was a shrug. "Are you pouting?"

"No," the response was terse. Blue pursed her lips and continued to follow behind Seto.

"Mokuba wants us to be friends." This earned her a hardened, but curious, look from the taller man. Blue slung her skates over her shoulder and continued.

"Well, he does. Why else would he bring me along and then basically force us to really spend time together?"

"You come over to play games all the time," Seto pointed out.

"Yeah, but," Blue placed her free, mittened hand on his arm, making them both stop, "this is different. I know you noticed."

Seto had noticed. He had noticed how the sunlight danced in Blue's eyes; how the wintery wind lifted her long, free tresses ever so softly. He had noticed how strikingly rosy her lips were against her porcelain skin.

"Okay…"

"So, why don't we...play along?" she offered. "Be friends?"

"You want to be friends?" Blue shrugged and, finally, removed her hand to sweep at her hair.

"I mean, it would make Mokuba happy, right?"

It made sense, logically. What other choice did they really have?

"Yeah. Mokuba would be happy," Seto acquiesced with a smirk.

"Great," Blue replied and proceeded to continue after the youngest brother. "Oh, one more thing."

Seto waited, his heart giving a little thump, as she turned back to face him.

"I, uh...I don't know how to skate."

"You don't know how," he repeated with a lifted brown. Blue just rolled her eyes and trudged on.

"Just don't let me fall."

* * *

"You're doing great, Blue!"

The girl gave a growl as she wobbled on the ice. Arms raised akimbo, attempting to keep her balance, she watched Mokuba glide gracefully backwards while shooting her a thumbs up.

"Yeah, you have really perfected standing." She glared at her boss and considered flicking him off. (But, she would have had to remove her mittens and it was just too cold for that.)

"Well? Move," he demanded, his arms crossed over his chest. Blue teetered slightly and tried not to yelp as she tentatively moved a skate forward.

"Wow...speed racer on the ice," Seto quipped as he pushed himself forward and circled the girl with all the finesse of a seasoned gold medalist.

"Knock it off. You're gonna make me fall," Blue demanded as she tried to turn her head to keep him in her sights. "Who are you? Victor Nikiforov?"

"Who?"

"Watch an anime some time!" Blue laughed, mostly in an attempt to veil her embarrassment. Seto scoffed and skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Give me your hands." He offered his own gloved hands, palms up, to her. Blue looked wary.

"We're supposed to be friends, remember?" Seto whispered. With a sigh, Blue finally placed her hands in his, instantly stabilizing her balance.

"Good. Now, push off with your left foot…" Blue stared down at her feet and did as instructed, only to teeter precariously once again.

"If you keep looking down, you will fall," Seto said. "Look at me."

Blue obeyed and their gazes locked. Seto began to skate backwards slowly, tugging Blue along with him. She gripped his hands tighter and tried to find her balance.

"Push off again." Blue tried again and was rewarded with the forward momentum she had been lacking. Seto drew her in, his arms bending at the elbow; he smirked at her wide eyes. He released one hand and slipped around to her side.

"Again." Still holding tight, Blue pushed off again. The two glided forward once more and the girl cast a small smile to her skating buddy. Seto replied with a small smirk of his own. Of course, this made her wobble again; Seto, acting swiftly, switched his hands and reached around behind her to take Blue's other outstretched hand.

"Keep looking forward," he instructed and received a half laughed 'okay' from the girl. The two proceeded to skate forward together, slowing gaining momentum as Blue became more comfortable.

Mokuba grinned as he watched them. It was so cute! Like something out of a teen romance manga. The younger Kaiba felt his chest swell with pride as he saw his plan working. They were holding hand, smiling, and talking softly to one another.

"You've got it," Seto decreed and released Blue's far hand so he could skate beside her once more.

"Don't let go!" she yelped, half laughing, as her balance faltered again. Seto grinned at her panic,still holding tight to one hand, as he took in her rosy cheeks and glittering eyes. To see the, usually, guarded and cocky Blue so unhinged and unsure was...cute.

All three were so distracted by the developing moment, that no one noticed the watery patch of ice the duo were approaching until it was too late.

"Woah!"

"Shit!"

The lack friction made Seto skid sideways first. Since he still had Blue's hand tightly in his own, she wiped after him as they quickly careened towards the edge of the pond. They both teetered and tottered wildly before crashing into the bank, sending up a puff of snow upon impact.

"Oh, man," Mokuba groaned. So, much for the romance…

"Are you two ok?" he called from across the pond.

Seto pushed himself up from the downy snow pile, spitting some of the offending frozen water from between his lips. He gave a quick shiver as a dollop of snow slid down his collar.

"I'm fine," he grumbled and sat up completely. After a quick glance around, he realized someone was missing. "Blue?  
The girl popped from the snow like a spring daisy. She sputtered and coughed and tried to swipe her, now soaked hair, from her face.

"Snow is - cough - stupid!" she fumed as she continued to try to free herself from her tangled locks. "I can't-I'm stuck!"

Seto bit back a round of chuckles and reached over to assist. Together, he and Blue finally managed to flip her hair out of her face and reveal glittering, murderous sapphire eyes.

"Tell me that is the end of the lesson for today," she deadpanned and shook snow from her coat sleeves.

"Well, you perfected crashing…"

"Wha-? You're the one who drug me down!" Blue accused. Seto scoffed and sat back away from her.

"You hit that wet patch of ice and I kept you from busting your face on the-" Seto was cut off as a mound of snow collided with his cheek. His jaw dropped in awe as he turned back to Blue, who was grinning like the cheshire cat.

"You've got something on your face," she said. A beat; two. Then, a wicked grin slipped across Seto's face.

"Oh, that is it!" he challenged and sent a wave of snow flying at the girl. Laughing, Blue retaliated with her own handfuls of snow.

Mokuba felt his chest swell with warmth as he watched his brother and friend playfully bombard each other. His plan was working.

* * *

The younger Kaiba continued to secretly smile as the trio made their way back to chateau. Blue and Seto tossed playful barbs back and forth about who would be winning the games they were set to all play together. Vows of defeat were made and smiles were passed freely.

Thinking fast, Mokuba bolted into the sun room ahead of the other two, ditching his thick coat at the table.

"What has you in such a hurry? Can't wait to watch me beat Blue at tennis?" Seto quipped, only slightly baffled at his brother's speedy behavior.

"I just want to make some cocoa for us all. Be right back!" Mokuba replied before darting away into the chateau proper.

"See if you can find some marshmallows!" Blue called after him.

"Marshmallows?"

"Hey, don't judge," she replied and pulled off a mitten. "Cocoa with marshmallows is the best."

Seto scoffed and slinked off his coat before laying it down beside Mokuba's much smaller one. He took a step back from the table as Blue took a step forward, resulting in the two bumping.

"Sorry."

"My bad."

Their eyes clashed for a few moments as Blue let her coat slip through her fingers and fall across the others on the table. After a breath of locked eyes, she let her gaze slip up and bit back a chuckle.

"What?" Seto asked, amused by her expression. Blue pointed up at him with one slender finger.

"You still have snow in your hair," she giggled. Standing on tiptoe, Blue reached a hand up and brushed the white droplets from his chocolate brown locks. As she began to settle back onto her heels, Seto raised his own hand to swipe her long hair behind her shoulder. He began to lean down to her level, their gazes locking again in a battle of glimmering blues. His voice was barely a murmur.

"I think...you might have some, too." Eyelids began to droop as they slowly moved closer. Hearts thrummed, lips parted ever so slightly…

"Your name is Kisara?"

* * *

Water boiled, mugs stirred, and marshmallows distributed, Mokuba picked up his tray of treats and made his way back to the game room. The young boy was so excited about the day's events and what was still to come, that he knocked Blue's laptop bag (which she had brought downstairs when all her technology had been confiscated) to the floor.

Setting down the tray, the boy quickly snatched the bag up; which sent several pens and a blue passport scattering. Mokuba huffed a sigh and proceeded to gather all the items up. Just as he was about to replace everything, curiosity got the better of the small boy. He flipped the little blue booklet open and was greeted with a stern picture of Blue. He glanced across her information, noting her birthday for later, and then stopped as he took notice of the name.

Kisara Yuki; not Blue?

Fueled with confusion, Mokuba continued to stare down at the familiar face, but foreign name, as he padded back to the door of the sun room.

"Your name is Kisara?"

The perfect moment the CEO and girl had found themselves in shattered with the question. Eyes flying open, each took an immediate step backwards from the other. Before Blue's mind could begin to question what had almost just happened, she snapped her head to the door.

"What?" she noted her passport in Mokuba's hand. "Why do you have that?"

"It fell out of your bag." Seto watched Blue's eyes harden ever so slightly before she began to march into the house.

"Could you put it back, please?" It was not a request as Blue circled around to the couch, planning to set up the game station.

"It's pretty." Blue stiffened and cast a curious glance at Mokuba, who was smiling sweetly. "Your name. Kisara is really pretty. Don't you think so, Seto?"

It was the CEO's turn to straighten up awkwardly as he stepped up beside his brother. Blue looked to his face quizzically and Seto prayed he wasn't blushing.

"It's, uh...very nice."

"...thank you?" There were too many conflicting feelings floating about her head to process everything at once. She had almost kissed her boss and now she was being bombarded with a name she never used anymore, but somehow couldn't bring herself to delete from existence. What was wrong with her today? Was there such a thing as snow stroke?

"Can I call you Kisara?"

"Say what?" Blue blurted at the innocent question. Still grinning, Mokuba hopped across the room to pounce onto the couch.

"It could be my Christmas present! I get to call you by your real name. Ok?"

Too much. It was all too much. However, Mokuba's sincere and simple request, coupled with his wide innocent eyes, kept Blue from refusing him.

"Ok." Mokuba's smile brightened even more as the girl settled herself on the couch beside him. They began to chat as the game booted up and Seto watched from the doorway.

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he watched the snowy haired woman. After a few moments, he decided he wanted, no, needed, to know just why she refused her real name.

* * *

The day wore on. Lunch was made and games were played. Board games, video games, card games. Mokuba had tried to convince his older companions to venture back out into the elements, but Blue had cited a desire to stay warm and dry.

Dinner was made and devoured ravenously. The chateau staff, chef and maids alike, were dismissed after the meal. More games ensued, then a movie. Halfway through the animated adventure they had been witnessing, Mokuba leaned against his brother's shoulder and fell fast asleep.

"Come on. Bed time," Seto coerced his younger brother. Mokuba gave a sleepy retort but Seto still managed to get the boy upstairs without too much fuss.

"Seto?" Mokuba drawled, half awake.

"Hm?"

"Kisara is really fun. I'm glad she came with us."

Seto's breath stilled slightly and he watched Mokuba fall asleep once more, his dark hair messed against the white pillows. Reaching out a hand, Seto smoothed down some of the unruly mass.

"Me, too."

Retreating quietly into the hall, Seto closed the bedroom door softly and let out the barest of sighs. Now that Mokuba was asleep, with his computer and phone carefully hidden away for the night, the CEO realized he didn't know how to occupy his time. Growling a little, Seto trudged back downstairs.

Blue had vanished from the game room, not even bothering to stop the movie they had been watching. Thinking she had retreated to bed, Seto made his way to the door to the sun room, deciding to pour himself a drink from the bar stash there.

To his great surprise, Blue was already inside, a deck of playing cards spread out on the low table before her and a tumblr of what appeared to be scotch in her hand.

"Mokuba finally konked out?" she asked without glancing up from her cards. He let the door clicked closed behind him, leaving him alone with Blue...Kisara…

Blue.

"Yeah." Seto replied and took up his own seat on the lounge across the small table from her, picking up a glass and the bottle on his way. Blue took a quick swig from her glass.

"Got any idea where he hid our stuff?"

"Nope." Blue groaned and set her forehead down on the table, scattering her game. Seto suppressed a chuckle and poured himself a tumblr of the amber alcohol. The young woman pulled herself back up, took another long gulp of scotch, and gathered up the cards.

"Well, as long as we are tech-less," Blue gave her boss a dreary look, "wanna play?" Seto shrugged his shoulders and Blue shuffled the cards expertly.

"Do you know how to play War?" Seto shook his head 'no' as he took a long swig of his drink, the scotch burning as it went down.

"Ok, so we each get half the deck," Blue cut the deck and flipped over the top card on each side. "So, we have a Jack and a three. The jack wins so that person gets both cards and adds them to the bottom of their deck."

"Alright, how is this a war?" Seto interrupted, failing to see the challenge in a game of chance. Blue ignored his comment and flipped over the next two cards, both fives.

"War happens when we have the same card. Now, you put the next three cards face down and flip the fourth. The higher card wins all the cards."

"So, how do you win?" he asked as he took his half of the deck and shuffled.

"Whoever gets all four aces wins since nothing beats an ace," Blue explained as she, too, shuffled her cards.

"This is ridiculously easy," Seto griped as he and Blue set down their first cards. Blue won and swiped the cards up before the moved on to their next hand.

"You want to make it interesting?" Blue asked, eyeing her boss over her scotch glass. The CEO paused and felt a shiver run through him at the suggestion. What could Blue be thinking?

"Like what?" he half choked out, fearing the worst. Blue gave a snort of laughter and waved her hand away as if dismissing a haze of unease.

"Nothing that bad," she giggled. "Serenity and her gaggle of friends like to make the loser of a 'war' do a dare but I have a bad feeling you might send me back out in the snow."

"No dares," Seto agreed and took another sip of his scotch. Suddenly, he had an idea. "How about the loser of a war has to answer any question posed to them?"

"So, the opposite of dares," Blue pondered, mulling over what her boss could possibly ask her. Shrugging off the threat of embarrassment, the girl brushed away a lock of her snowy hair and shot Kaiba a haughty look.

"Alright, let's play." Seto smirked and threw down his card. Blue mirrored his move and two kings stared back at them.

"Right outta the gate!" Blue laughed as the two laid down their next three cards before flipping the last two.

"I win," Blue laughed, scooping up the cards and adding her winnings to her hand. "So, I get to ask you anything?"

"That's what we agreed." Seto wasn't sure if he should be nervous as he watched Blue tap her chin with her index finger, apparently thinking hard about what she would ask him. He could feel it in her devious gaze; she was going to ask him something really uncomfortable. He was going to have to tell her something insane, like how he sometimes dreams about another Kisara from long ago. Good God, why did he suggest this crazy game?!

"When is the last time you played Duel Monsters?"

Ok, that was definitely not what he was expecting.

"What?" Seto barked, astounded at the innocent question. "That's your question?"

"That's my question," Blue assured him, grinning. Seto blinked and thought back to his last duel.

"The first KC Grand Championship. Against Zigfried Von Schroder."

"Really? Wasn't that, like, three years ago?" Blue prodded, her eyes wide.

"Yeah. Really," Seto finally realized just how long it had been since he had even picked up his deck. After the trip to Egypt and the crazy experiences he had endured, Seto had sealed away his deck and hardly thought about it. "Why would you ask that?"

"Duel Monsters just seemed like something you were really passionate about and I thought it was a little odd you would just...quit," Blue admitted and took another gulp of her drink. Seto grunted, mirroring her with his beverage, before the two continued on with their game. It seemed like forever before the next war came up but it inevitably did and Seto smirked at his companion.

"How the tables have turned," Seto quipped as he scooped up the cards he had won.

"Yeah, yeah. What's your question?" Blue shrugged and poured them each another tumblr. Seto knew exactly what he wanted to ask.

"Why does everyone call you 'Blue'?"

"Because that's my name," the girl retorted with a playful sneer.

"Not your legal name." Blue sighed and drained her glass in one long pull.

"My first foster-father called me 'Blue' and it stuck. The end," she blurted out and slammed down her next card, never meeting Seto's eyes.

"That is not the end," Seto replied and Blue scoffed, pouring another drink. "Why is this such a sensitive issue?"

"I'm not sensitive," Blue retorted and moved to take a drink, but Seto took the glass from her hand. "Hey!"

"Tell me and you get your drink back," Seto demanded. Blue glared at him, her blue eyes almost appearing to glow with her irritation. Finally, she sighed and sat back on her chair and began.

"I grew up in an orphanage and once I turned seven, the administration realized no one was going to willingly adopt me, so I got dumped into the foster system," Blue said, looking out into the dark, snowy night. "My first family was this middle aged couple. They weren't really well off but they always had at least three of us in their house. I was there for six months." Blue sighed and plowed on.

"So, like I said, my foster-father used to call me 'blue-eyed girl' or 'Blue' or whatever. I thought this was a term of endearment kind of thing at the time. My first progress visit came up and my social worker came to see them. He 'oohed' and 'awwed' and bragged on me, saying how much they enjoyed having me there, how smart I was, blah-blah-blah; but then he said that their incentive payments weren't covering all of my expenses and they would need more. Of course, that didn't work so I was packed up and shipped off to my next family." Blue fiddled with her next card. "Bastard didn't even say goodbye to me."

They were both quiet for a moment, the weight of Blue's story hanging in the air like a dense fog. Seto slid the glass back across the table and Blue picked it up, taking a sip.

"So, you decided to be called Blue?" The girl nodded.

"Seemed easier. I was going to keep being passed around like a hand-me-down sweater so why bother making people remember anything about me?" Seto took his own pull of his drink and flipped over his card.

"You win," he slid the cards to Blue's side of the table as though offering an olive branch. Blue scoffed, took another gulp, and turned back to the game. They continued; flipping cards, drinking, and chatting about nothing in particular. Then: another war.

"Two in a row? Really?" Blue asked with a humorless laugh and ran her hand through her hair. "What deeply personal question you got for me this time?"

Seto waved his hand at her as he took a drink, attempting to dispel her suspicions.

"We did say anything," Seto defended and swiped at his own hair. The more he drank, the more it seemed to bother him by falling in his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Ask away. I'm an open book," Blue retorted. Seto scratched at the back of his head, his mind hazy with alcohol. Finally, he had a question.

"How did you meet Serenity Wheeler?"

"Her mom was my social worker after I started my freelance programming business," Blue offered up easily. "I made a deal with her that I wouldn't have to live in government housing as long as Serenity was my 'live in caretaker.' So, Serenity gets free room and board and I get my own house."

"Well, that's manipulative," Seto added and Blue gave a soft laugh.

"Yeah, well, at least with Serenity around I'm not eating take out every meal."

"You don't cook?" Seto asked as he played his next card. Blue shook her head 'no' and fell into a fit of giggles.

"Nope. I burn corn flakes." Blue's next card matched Seto's and another war began.

"Ohhhhhh. Look at that! Look at who wins," Blue gloated and gathered up her cards with one hand while taking a big gulp of her drink with the other.

"Shut up," Seto muttered picking up his own drink.

Blue grinned and leaned forward with her chin in her hand.

"So, boss...you got a girlfriend?"

Seto sputtered, choking on his scotch, and coughed violently. Blue laughed at his blushing face while Seto tried his best to glare through his watering eyes.

"What the hell kind of question is that?!"

"Judging from your reaction, a really awkward one," Blue cackled before picking up her glass. "Soooooooo…?"

"No. I do not have a girlfriend," Seto ground out, crossing his arms indignantly. Blue blinked over the top of her glass.

"Do you like girls?"

"Of course I like girls!" Seto retorted, somehow becoming even more annoyed. Blue laughed and flipped over a new card, beginning their game again.

"No need to get all pissy." Seto growled and threw down his next card.

"Well, do you have a boyfriend?" the CEO retorted. It wasn't fair that he should feel so vulnerable while Blue laughed at him.

"It's not your turn to ask questions," Blue chastised. "But, no. I don't."

"Do you _like_ boys?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you have a boyfriend?" Seto demanded. Blue rolled her eyes and leaned forward.

"Because my boss likes to kidnap me on a regular basis," she replied with a grin. "Why don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Because pictures of us have been slathered over every magazine cover in the world for the last six months. You scare off all my prospects," Seto shot back, a smirk pulling his mouth up at the corners. Blue chuckled and tossed down another card, still grinning.

"Oh, sure. Some _nobody_ is keeping the most 'eligible bachelor in Japan' from getting a girlfriend," she quipped.

"You're not 'nobody'."

Blue glanced up, expecting her boss to still have a teasing glint in his eye. However, Seto wore a more thoughtful look. The playful retort she had prepared died on her lips as their eyes locked and the moment wore on into a pregnant pause.

"Looks like you won again," Blue finally blurted as she averted her gaze from his and instead stared down at the pile of cards between them. "You get to ask another question."

Seto looked down, too, thinking carefully about what he wanted to ask. It took a few moments but it finally clicked in his alcohol addled brain what he really wanted to ask the young woman sitting across from him.

"Can I call you 'Kisara'?" The CEO looked up through his bangs to see his companion looking at him, wide eyed, over the top of her glass.

"Huh?" was all the baffled girl could reply, blinking owlishly and her cheeks tinging pink.

"Well, you told Mokuba he could call you that and since I am his older brother it is only fair that you grant me the same privilege," Seto rambled quickly, hoping that his explanation would throw Blue off of his true budding feelings. The girl took a swig of her drink, appearing thoughtful about how she would answer him. After a painful minute of waiting, she smirked and leaned forward.

"Only if I get to call you 'Seto'," she compromised, tipping her glass towards him as if proposing a toast to their newfound camaraderie. The young man grinned and raised his own glass.

"Deal," he replied and their glasses met with a merry 'clink'.

* * *

 _Author's note: So, the "WAR" scene was one of my favorites to write. Definitely top three. (The other two scenes are coming up in the next four chapters, btw.) As per usual, please leave a review. A little note. A love letter, if you will...sorry, that was weird. More to come! Stay tuned and stay classy!  
_


	16. Chapter 16

Even before he opened his eyes, Seto could tell something didn't feel quite right. The pillow beneath the back of his head was too hard and small, making his neck ache. He could feel the starchy scratch of his slacks against his legs so clearly he had slept in his clothes. Something loud was playing on repeat in the background, battle music of some kind; had Mokuba left the game station on? Also, there was something pinning his arm down and making his fingers tingle with the lack of blood flow. His head felt like it was full of cotton balls and something was tickling his cheek. However, he was also getting a strong scent of...lavender? What the hell was going on?

His eyes creaked open only for his vision to be obscured by white. His brain instantly associated the color with snow but he wasn't outside and he certainly wasn't cold. In fact, he felt warm; too warm.

Blue eyes went wide as the reality of the situation sank in. He was in Switzerland. He was on the couch in the game room of his rented chateau. And Blue, no, _Kisara_ , was tucked into his side, sound asleep.

Seto was lying on his back and Kisara was snuggled beside him with her back to the back of the sofa, her head on his chest and one her legs draped over his. His one arm was asleep because he had it wrapped around her to hold her close and he finally noticed the other was on top of her hand, which was sitting right over his, now pounding, heart.

How the hell had they ended up like this?! He suppressed a groan as the hazy memories came back…

" _I'm gonna kick your ass in Mario Kart this time."_

" _You can't beat me sober; what makes you so sure you can beat me drunk?"_

" _I'm not drunk! You're drunk!" Kisara giggled and stumbled onto the couch, her drink sloshing in one hand. He grinned and downed his glass as she passed him a remote._

" _Please! I can beat you with one hand ti-hic-tied behind my back."_

 _The girl fell into laughter, collapsing backwards on the couch with a hand over her face._

" _Why are you-hic laughing?" he demanded but his tone was light._

" _You have the hiccups!" she cackled and peeked one bleary blue eye at him._

" _Why is that funny?" Seto half laughed himself, hiccuping again, as he took a seat beside her._

" _Because-" Kisara chortled and smiled at him, "it's so cute!"_

Seto felt his cheeks flame up as he recalled the night. They had raced for a while and then he had had the bright idea that they play Mario Party. Kisara had piled on, in her drunken haze, that they should take shots every time one of them lost a mini game. They had gotten wasted and somehow fallen asleep together.

How the hell was he going to get up without waking her? Even worse, what if Mokuba walked in? How were they going to explain this?

Seto tensed as he felt Kisara shift. Instead of waking, though, she somehow snuggled even closer to him and turned head up so her nose was now brushing against his neck. Her warm breath splayed across his skin as she sighed, sending a new wave of shivers rippling through him.

He braved a glance down at her face, relieved to see that her eyes were still closed.

Later, he would chalk all of what he did next to his still being drunk.

The previous notion of somehow removing himself from her and bolting slipped away as he took in her passive face. His eyes roved over her features, committing them to memory: pale eyebrows, long dark lashes laying upon cheeks the color of living marble, and delicately parted peach lips. Asleep, she almost looked like a stranger. No sarcastic grins or furrowed brows, pulled down in concentration, marred this peaceful face.

A lock of her tousled hair slipped down to lie over her brow. Gently, Seto raised his free hand to brush it away. His thumb brushed over her cheek and he realized he liked how soft it felt. He cupped her face softly and let his thumb sweep over her flesh again. She was so warm…

With a soft groan, Kisara squirmed and her eyelids lifted slightly. Seto held his breath as she glanced up at him sleepily, their eyes meeting.

"Hey, Seto," she mumbled as her eyes slid shut again and she laid her head back on his chest.

It hit her a full five seconds later.

A gasp, blue eyes snapping open, Kisara shot up to stare at him wide eyed. The hand that had been caressing her cheek not thirty seconds before, fell back to the one on his chest. A blush crept over the CEO's face as she hovered over him, gaping.

"Wha-how-you-" she floundered for a moment before trying to stand, straddling the CEO in the process and causing her own face to blossom into a pink sunset of embarrassment. Unfortunately, in her shock, Kisara had completely miscalculated where the floor was and toppled off the side of the couch, landing on her side with an "oomph."

"Ow…" she groaned into the carpet before pushing herself up. She came face to face with her boss again, who was now propped up on one arm to make sure she wasn't hurt.

Her face erupted in red, her heart was pounding as hard as her head. Oh, dear sweet god; strike her down now to avoid this abysmal fate.

"Are you-"

"I'm fine!" she retorted quickly before pushing herself up off the floor and marching to the door, shoulders hunched so as to make herself as small as possible.

"Kisara,-"

"Nope!" She ignored the thrum that echoed through her heart as he said her name.

"You guys up already?" And, of course, Mokuba would come waltzing in during this awkward exchange. The younger Kaiba gave the girl a brief once over and furrowed his brow.

"Did you guys stay up all night?" Mokuba queried and noted that Seto was also still in his clothes from yesterday.

"Its-uh-well...I-he-" Kisara floundered. Her usually brilliant mind continued to short circuit at the enormity of the situation. She needed an out. "I'm tired. G'night!"

"It's morning!" Mokuba shouted at her retreating back but the girl was already high tailing it to her room so she could lock the door and dissolve into a puddle of shame. "What's up with her?"

Mokuba looked back to the couch but Seto had buried his face into the cushions and didn't respond. Worried, the younger brother padded to the side of the couch and prodded his sibling's shoulder.

"Seto?"

"Shhhh….stop yelling," If Mokuba hadn't known any better, he would have said his big brother was whining.

* * *

' _Kisara…'_

 _She was warm, delightfully warm, and safe. She rubbed herself against a strong, hard body; hands roamed across supple flesh and lips trailed after them._

' _Kisara..'_

 _She groaned as a delicious weight glided on top of her, grinding against her in all the right places. Lips gleamed against the tender flesh of her neck, leading up to her own gasping lips. She dared to open her eyes and was met with the smoldering cobalt of Seto Kaiba._

' _Kisara…Kisara!'_

"Kisara!"

The girl jolted awake, gasping and startled by the hand on her shoulder. Tossing the covers about her wildly, she was met, not with the navy eyes of her dream, but the soft gray of Mokuba Kaiba.

"Mokuba? Wha-"

"Sorry!" The younger boy interrupted, eyes wide at her startled expression. He raised one hand to show her confiscated cell phone. "You have a missed call from Serenity. I thought you might want to call her back."

"Oh...yeah. Thanks," Kisara said as she took the phone gently.

"Were you having a bad dream?"

"What?" Mokuba perched himself on the bed, his dark eyebrows pulled down in concern.

"You were...muttering...while you slept." Kisara prayed that her cheeks were not flaming at this moment as wisps of her naughty dream played back through her mind's eye. Clearing her throat and willing those images far away, she sat back against the headboard and shook her head.

"No, I'm fine."

Mokuba smiled, bounced off the bed, and made his way to the door.

"Ok. When you get off the phone, come join Seto and I for a late lunch. He took a nap, too, so I bet you are both starving!" Kisara didn't have time to respond as Mokuba bounded from the room and snapped the door closed behind him.

Sighing, she flopped back under the blankets and tried to think of how she was going to face the eldest Kaiba brother again after this morning. She had been on top of her boss!

"Oh, god…" she groaned and rubbed at her eyes. This whole trip had been one big, bad idea. How could she have been so stupid?!

Heaving another sigh, Kisara decided to handle what little hectic part of her life she could at the present moment and she dialed Serenity's number. Two rings in, she got an answer.

"Merry Christmas, Blue!" The nickname was like a dousing of cold water. "I guess you were busy working, since you didn't pick up yesterday."

"Hey, See-see," Kisara muttered in reply. "And uh...I'm, actually, not at home?"

"What? You aren't home?"

"No. I'm in Switzerland."

"You're where?!" Joey's voice rang shrilly through the receiver and Kisara cringed in response. She listened as Serenity chastised her brother for yelling and, after a short squabble and the slamming of a door, the calmest Wheeler returned to the phone.

"You're in Switzerland?"

"Yeah," Kisara clarified.

"Ok. Are you alone or-"

"No. Seto and Mokuba invited me at the last minute," Kisara explained. The phone was quiet for a few moments and she checked to make sure the call hadn't dropped. "See-see?"

"Seto?" Kisara felt a chill run through her at the name. Had she said that? "You guys are on a first name basis, now?'

"It's not like that!" she defended, ignoring Serenity's smug tone. "Mokuba is the one who really invited me so it isn't weird!"

"If you say so, Blue," Serenity tittered from her end. "Are you having fun? When will you be home?"

"January 2nd," Kisara ignored the first question. "We are supposed to be going to some big New Years' party thing."

"Well, that sounds fun!" A crash resounded in the background and the grating voice of Joey Wheeler came bursting through the speaker.

"You better not be kissing Kaiba at midnight!" With a yelp, Kisara cringed and dropped her cell phone. She could barely make out the squabbling siblings as she finally dug the device out of the sheets and put it back to her ear.

"Sorry, Blue! Joey is-"

"So, help me, Blue! If you are macking on ole' Moneybags-"

"I DIDN'T KISS HIM! GAH!" And with that, Kisara jammed her thumb into the 'end call' button so hard she thought the screen would crack. She flung the offending device across the mattress before falling back against the pillows and rubbing at her eyes.

"No matter how much I really want to…" she muttered in defeat. Sighing, she threw her hands out to side and stared up at the ceiling.

How was she going to make it through the next six days?

* * *

The answer was surprisingly easy. Work.

With the tech ban lifted, Kisara had retrieved her laptop and Lil-Blue and holed herself up in her room for the past 24 hours. Of course, she had taken breaks when Mokuba had come asking her to join them for a meal or a game but she had made it a point to not look directly into the face of her boss, if she could even still classify him as that.

Seto had been ignoring her as well. He had been surprisingly quiet, in fact; which was just fine. Still, it had been far too uncomfortable in his presence. So, she had claimed to still have a headache and retire to her room. It was only after she continued to mis-key the same line of code for the millionth time that she really buckled down to work.

No, Kisara wasn't going to think about any of the previous morning's escapades. Nope. She was going to stay buried in her little world of coding and programming and forget all about the steely, blue eyes of Seto Kaiba. She was just going to sit here on her plushy bed with her laptop and not worry about a thing.

"Kisara?" The girl didn't look away from her screen at the timid knock at the door. Mokuba peeked in, making sure she was even there, before padding into the room and tapping her shoulder. "Kisara?"

"Hm?" she answered, still glued to her computer.

"I'm bored," Mokuba muttered as he climbed onto the massive bed and flopped down. He reached out a hand to Lil-Blue, who flexed his little wings and rubbed his mechanical snout on the offered fingers.

"That's nice." Kisara was finally pulled from her work as the younger Kaiba knocked her bare foot with his own. She turned her eyes up, cocking an eyebrow, and was met with Mokuba's somber expression. "What?"

"Seto's working."

"Yeah. So am I."

"But, we're on vacation," Mokuba answered quietly and laid back again. "Can we do something fun? Please?"

Internal alarms started to ring in her head. She couldn't see Seto right now. She had just managed to shove all these awful new 'feelings' down and she was certain she would do something stupid should she find herself in his presence.

"Check out my new game," Kisara sighed and handed the laptop over. Maybe if she could get Mokuba interested in her work, she could avoid Seto for a few hours more. "Let me know what you think."

Mokuba's face lit up and he scooched closer to take the offered device. Kisara leaned over, selected the program, and let the youngest brother play for a while. The girl leaned back against her pillows and closed her eyes, not sleeping but just listening to Mokuba's muttering commentary.

"Are the graphics supposed to be all...blocky?"

"Yeah. It's called 8bit," Kisara supplied, not opening her eyes. "Going for a vintage style."

"Can Lil-Blue even make a style like this?"

"It's for mobile play...but I guess so…" The gears of her brain began to turn at the thought. Designs, mounts, maybe a slightly different menu layout...

"Hey! You made a character for Seto!" Blue eyes snapped open at the comment and she shot the boy a puzzled look. Mokuba grinned, completely missing her confusion. "Can you put me in one of your games too?"

Kisara didn't reply. She merely spun the laptop around to look upon her creation. The avatar had made it past the initial opening sequence and was now receiving the main quest description. The knight character she had created to reveal the storyline filled the screen.

It was unmistakable, even in blocky 8bit, that Seto Kaiba had been the inspiration. Brown locks of hair falling into stern blue eyes. Even the scowl was the same!

"Kisara?" The girl blinked and passed the laptop back. "You ok?"

"Hm?...oh. Yeah." Her pale eyebrows were still pulled down over her eyes.

"So….can I have a character too?" Mokuba asked again and nudged her foot with his own. Kisara finally pulled out of her thoughts and offered him a small grin.

"Sure. I'll make you a wizard." Mokuba grinned broadly and flopped over into his back to stare up at the ceiling.

"Can I have a staff instead of a wand?"

"Like Gandalf?"

"Yeah! That would be awesome!"

"The gray or the white?"

Kisara jumped at the voice in the doorway. She and Mokuba both looked over to see Seto, arms crossed and leaning his shoulder against the door frame. Kisara pulled her laptop back into her lap to avoid his eyes.

"The white, obviously," Mokuba supplied matter of factly.

"What's wrong with Gandalf the Grey? He defeated the Balrog," Kisara piled on, thankful that her voice didn't shake or crack from the sudden onslaught of nerves.

"Agree to disagree," came the snarky reply from the doorway and Kisara dared a peek up but the CEO was staring off into space, looking uninterested.

"Ooh! We should watch the Lord of the Rings! Can we, Seto?"

"After lunch," Seto acquiesced and pushed off from the door jamb. Mokuba cheered and slid off the bed, followed by Kisara. Seto let Mokuba prance ahead and fell in step beside Kisara, much to her dismay.

"Has your head finally stopped hurting?" he asked, sneaking a glance out of the side of his eye at her. True, it had been almost a full day since their drunken escapade but the hangover had been hell for him. Kisara kept her sights straight ahead.

"Yeah. Yours?"

"Better." Seto smirked and leaned a little closer. "But, then again, I didn't fall off the couch."

Kisara fought the shiver that rippled down her spine. Damn it, he was smug.

"I wouldn't have fallen off the couch if someone hadn't been grabbing me so hard," she retorted and stopped to glare at him. Seto stopped too and returned her steely gaze with his own.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" he challenged. His heart gave a little squeeze as she met his eyes for this first time since...

"You had _your arm_ around me," Kisara retorted in a hushed tone so Mokuba wouldn't come back and hear them.

"I believe _you_ were on top of _me."_

"Pft. For half a second."

"It was longer than that," Seto said with a gleam in his eye. Kisara felt the butterflies erupt in her stomach. Why didn't he sound more annoyed? Was he flirting?

"Whatever. Let's just go on like none of that happened," she said, hoping she sounded sincere, and turned her nose up at him.

"Oh, but it did happen," Seto said and took a step forward. Kisara tried to step back but she collided with the wall. When had he placed himself in front of her? Why had she let him? She looked into his deep blue eyes for some indication of what he was playing at. That smug glean said it all; he was toying with her. This was all some bizarre tango they had entered into, neither of them knowing where the rhythm would take them in the end.

And it scared her. Just a little. Kisara hated to do it, but she looked away. She couldn't process when she looked at him.

"I don't want to play this game."

"Why not?" Seto placed his palm flat on the wall, right beside Kisara's head. He was trying to keep his smirk in check. She had looked down but he was certain she was playing along. Seto wholly anticipated for Kisara to look back to him with her own devilish grin and flirt her way deeper into this situation.

That's what he wanted. He craved to see how far this would go.

Instead, she leveled him with a cold, empty stare; her face devoid of humor.

"You're my boss."

In an instant, Kisara had resurrected the wall between them once more. They lapsed into silence. Seto's brilliant mind turned with ways he could tear this partition between them down once again. He tried to formulate something to say but came up empty. His gaze dipped down to her mouth; the thought danced across his mind for a moment. However, Seto didn't want to steal a kiss. Not from her.

Instead, he leaned back and looked away.

"I am your boss," he stated flatly. Kisara fought the urge to cry out, to scream, to do something to make him lean in again, to be close again. Instead, she adopted her trusty air of indifference, the attitude that had won her place at Kaiba Corp. and the production of the PersaComm.

"We can be friendly. But best to leave it at that." She stepped around him to make her way to the kitchen for lunch. It was better this way. They were better this way.

"Can I still call you Kisara?" She stopped at his question and glanced back over her shoulder. One look at his stoic face told her she had the power in this position. She could tell him 'no' and everything would go back to how it had been before…

Her lips turned up in a soft smile. One that set the CEO's heart fluttering in his chest.

"Of course, Seto."

It was too late to go back.

* * *

 _Author's note: ...I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! I really had quite a lot of trouble with the end of this chapter and I had tried several different endings before settling on this one. Hopefully, the next few updates will not take so long. But, ya know...some reviews always help me along?_

 _Thanks so much for reading and I will see y'all soon!_


	17. Chapter 17

"You know what, I can't even take you seriously anymore. You are completely delusional," Seto huffed from across the breakfast table, rolling his eyes and taking a long swig of hot coffee.

"I'm delusional?! You're the one ignoring every possible, and might I add CANON, alternative!" Kisara barked back as she dug furiously at her omelette with knife and fork (clearly picturing the infuriating, albeit handsome, face of her employer beneath them.)

"You two both have solid opinions," Mokuba added in as soothing a manner as possible. "Can't we all just agree that the entire Final Fantasy franchise is pretty great?"

"Seven is still the best," Kisara quipped around a mouthful of egg.

"It's the most popular," Seto replied.

"And for good reason. Cause it is the BEST!"

Mokuba tried not to sigh as the two 'adults' launched back into their fervid debate. He supposed he should be grateful; at least they were talking to each other again.

The last few days had been odd to say the least. Kisara and Seto had begun ignoring one another, often excusing themselves to their rooms to work when the other would walk into a room. However, he had been able to cajole them both enough to melt some of the icy attitude between them. At least, enough to have a few meals and some spirited conversation.

"Miss, a delivery for you." The raging debate was placed on hold once again as the maid arrived, a garment bag draped over one arm. "Would you like me to hang this in your room?"

"Huh? I didn't order anything." Kisara stood to take the bag, dismissing the maid with a soft "thanks." Mokuba looked on, intrigued, as the girl slowly undid the zipper to reveal a sliver of glimmering, pearlescent blue. Seto watched from behind his coffee cup as Kisara peered into the bag for a better look, her pale eyebrows drawn down over her eyes.

"What's this?" It was a question lacking any sort of demand.

"You needed something for the party tonight," Seto replied as he set aside his coffee and stood.

"Couldn't I have just worn the dress from the shareholder meeting?"

"Even I know ladies do not wear the same thing twice." Seto brushed a hand through his hair. He would never admit he still felt a tiny ball of tension in his stomach when in the girl's presence. "Of course, if you don't want it-"

"I didn't say that!" Kisara defended and hugged the bag close to her. Seto smirked and marched away without another word. He had some work to complete before their big evening. Also, his heart was thumping rather annoyingly.

"You better not have any maids ambushing me this time!"

* * *

"You have got to be kidding."

"What?" Seto asked as he stepped aside to let Kisara out of the limo. The girl was bundled up in her downy coat, as she had been since they had left the chateau, and staring wide eyed ahead of her.

"Seriously? Are you joking?" She gave him an incredulous look. The CEO gave a half shrug as he had no idea what she was going on about. "Seto...It's a freakin' castle."

"Your observational skills are astounding," Seto deadpanned and closed the car door behind her. Kisara shot him a glare and huffed a long, free flowing strand of hair from her eyes.

"Oh, sure. Party in a castle, in SWITZERLAND, on New Year's Eve? Pft! No big deal."

"Come on, you two!" Mokuba called from the glowing entry a few feet ahead. He had forgone a coat (much to his brother's objection) and hustled inside quick as he could. "Dinner will be served soon!"

Seto grumbled and began to walk forward only to be stopped by Kisara latching onto his elbow.

"What are you doing?" he asked, ignoring the flutter in his chest at the unanticipated closeness.

"I don't wanna fall on my ass in this dress," Kisara growled while her stomach gave a little twist. She lifted the hem of her gown to show off a pair of glittering silver pumps (although she still only came to Seto's shoulder.) "Heels and snow don't mix well."

Seto resisted the urge to compare the shoes to a certain princess, doomed to depart before midnight, and looked away. He looped his arm in her's and proceeded onward.

"Thanks," Kisara muttered, looking away. Seto didn't so much as huff in reply. He felt if he made any sound at all he would blurt out something ridiculous.

Thankfully, as they came to the door, Kisara released him to carry on alone. Regardless of the blast of warm air from the interior, Seto and Kisara both felt colder.

"Welcome to Castle Armand," a butler greeted, his tuxedo dark as night and his trained smile dim but cordial. "Miss, I can take your coat."

"Uh huh," Kisara drawled absently as she took in the decor with wide eyes filled with wonder.

Seto turned away to hand over his own coat and gloves. He did his best to quash down any affectionate feelings he felt cropping up at Kisara's reactions to their surroundings.

 _I am Seto Kaiba, CEO and president of Kaiba Corp. Kisara is my employee. My employee,_ he chanted to himself. He could do this; he could make it through tonight. No problem.

As he turned back, ready to proceed into the dining hall, all the rallying his personal pep talk had mustered evaporated.

 _Holy shit._

It should have been criminal to look that amazing. Downright illegal. However, the only thing Kisara was breaking right now was the last shreds of Seto's denial.

Where the black dress for the shareholder meeting had been simple, this one was...there were no words. Wow.

The entire ensemble was a dazzling iridescent blue, which shifted and changed in the light as Kisara moved. The skirt was full at the bottom but not so much that she looked like a fairytale princess. The waist cinched in tightly, making the curves of her hips and chest a touch more pronounced. Speaking of her chest, the dress was strapless and lent a perfect rounding to-

"Seto? Hello?"

The CEO snapped back to reality and quickly looked into Kisara's curious face.

"Uh...wha-what?" Oh dear lord, he sounded ridiculous. Kisara pursed her lips and looked away. She had to maintain the boundaries. Although, the way Seto had been staring at her just now did make her stomach twist excitedly (not that she was going to say anything about it!)

"Never mind. Aren't they serving dinner or something?" This was good, change the subject, push away all those pesky feelings. She could make it through the night if she just stayed strong.

"Yes...Dinner,," Sero replied, clearing his throat.

"Through the salon, Miss. Would you like an escort?" the butler returned, suddenly more interest in the young woman without her coat. Kisara scoffed with a tight smile at the man and stepped back; which unconsciously put her much closer to Seto.

"She's with me," Seto growled possessively. He took hold of Kisara's hand, shooting a glare at the help, before marching on.

Kisara balked at the his brazen attitude as she stumbled along behind him. However, even with how angry Seto had sounded a moment ago, she noticed his grip on her hand was anything but harsh. His hold on her was so gentle she could have pulled away with little resistance.

But she didn't.

 _He's warm_. She silently berated herself for such a stupid thought but was intrigued nonetheless.

"Kisara?"

"Hm?" The girl was broken from her odd (and childish) train of thought and looked up into Seto's face. His gaze was like stone; calculating but giving nothing away. He noticed the slight tinge of pink on her cheeks and how wide, almost innocent, her bright blue eyes looked. After a beat too long, Kisara broke their staring contest and looked away.

"What?"

 _Dear lord, she's cute._ Seto smirked and tightened his grasp on her hand. He pushed.

"Sit next to me."

Kisara looked back to him and he waited. If she didn't want to play this game tonight, she had the power in this moment to stop it all. He would respect that decision but, oh, how desperately he craved the competition.

Finally, Kisara huffed and shot him a bemused smirk.

"It's not like I know anyone else here, Seto."

Her sarcasm was biting but her fingers were gentle as they tightened against his. Seto scoffed, a grin on his face, and they entered the ballroom.

Let the games begin.

* * *

All bets were off tonight. Anyone not in the know would think Seto and Kisara a couple. All through dinner they had leaned in and whispered to one another as though conspiring. Sure, they had included Mokuba when he piped up, but the younger Kaiba had eventually taken a backseat to watch them.

Seto pushed the boundaries gently. He all but ignored the gentleman to his left in favor of the woman to his right. They talked; he even went so far as to make a joke (which only Kisara seemed to understand and laughed.)

After two glasses of wine, Kisara pushed farther. She would lay her fingertips gently on his arm while he spoke. She took to twirling a single lock of hair around one finger while she shared her own anecdotes. Seto found his gaze locking onto that digit as she fiddled with her hair. Such a small action had completed captivated him.

Seto found his own chance to test the limits after the dinner service was cleared away. All eyes turned to the center floor as a troupe of acrobats appeared. With the way the tables were placed, Kisara had to turn slightly for the best view. Seto took the chance presented. He sat forward in his chair and draped his arm over the back of her's. Not touching but definitely present.

Kisara upped the ante. She leaned towards him during the more daring acts and turned to share the delight. Seto was gifted with whiffs of her perfume in such moments. Lavender washed over him for a brief second before she pulled back.

He found himself wanting to be closer.

The acrobats bowed out to roarous applause and the Master of Ceremonies took up the microphone.

"Our dance floor is now open to all guests. Please, feel free to dance away until the clock strikes midnight!"

This was his chance. A legitimate reason to hold her close to him, to feel her hand in his again, to-

"Dance with me, Kisara!" Mokuba asked, chipper with the secret glass of champagne he had snuck while Seto was preoccupied.

"Oh! Um...Well-" Kisara was yanked out her giddy buzz by the sudden demand. Part of her expected Seto to ask her for the first dance. However, the CEO had leaned away from her, pulling his arm back from her chair.

"Oh, Seto doesn't like to dance. Come on!" Mokuba urged, oblivious in his adolescent haziness to see his blunder. He tugged at Kisara's arm until she rose and followed him to the dance floor. She cast a quick look back to see Seto seemed to be transfixed with his wine glass.

 _Game over, I suppose,_ she thought as she began to sway with Mokuba.

* * *

The minutes ticked on. Seto was approached by several colleagues, older business men who dominated the conversation with their drunken reverie. All for the better as the only person who could hold his genuine interest was still on the dance floor with his younger brother.

Eventually, his sudden company grew bored when he would not share his relationship with the 'stunning young lady' he had brought with him tonight. Apparently, answers like 'she's my employee' and 'it's a work relationship' did not stir the gossip mill enough to keep the conversations going.

After a time, Seto was alone and content to watch the party goers as they danced into the New Year. Especially Kisara.

 _There is still time_ , he thought, attempting to quell his jealousy at the fact Kisara was not beside him. He had the awful feeling that everything would go back to how it had been after tonight. He should take his chance while he still had it. Right?

Maybe he could get her alone. Just a quiet place to talk. He so liked to talk to her and about anything. She was interesting, intelligent, and he adored how her eyes lit up when they talked about their creative endeavors.

His heart gave a twist of hope.

"Having a good time, Kaiba-boy?"

"I was," the CEO snapped, his small smirk and the feelings of delight melted away as Pegasus appeared at his elbow. Chuckling to himself, Pegasus helped himself to Kisara's chair (either oblivious or ignoring the growl from Seto at the action.) "What are you doing here?"

"I come to this little shindig every few years," Pegasus replied, his tone light and bubbly as the glass of champagne he took from a passing waiter. "However, from what I recall, you are not one for parties. So, why are you here?"

"I'm here for business." The reply was automatic, a defense mechanism built up over years in the industry. Pegasus was not convinced.

"Kaiba-boy, it's the holidays and no one is here for business. You see," Pegasus leaned in, as if conveying some deep secret, "sometimes people take time off and have…" the billionaire looked about to make sure no one was listening. "...fun!"

Pegasus sat back and grinned like the cheshire cat, eagerly awaiting for Seto to crack (a rather out-of-character) smile. Yet, the young man's face remained stoic, his lips in a terse line; so, Pegasus sighed wistfully and looked out to the dance floor.

"Well, at least Blue looks like she finally learned how to have fun." At the mention of the girl, Seto's gaze shot to the dance floor. Kisara and Mokuba were still dancing and laughing as each other tripped up or turned the wrong way. "I must say, the girl does clean up nicely. How on Earth did you convince her to spend her time off with you?"

"Watch it, Pegasus," Seto growled dangerously.

"Oh?" Pegasus turned his one good eye back to Seto; his features conveyed nothing but gentle confusion. "Did I strike a cord?"

Seto was not convinced of this innocent facade.

"You can forget whatever plan you have cooking up to steal Kisara away to your company. She is staying with me."

"Oh, I've long given up on that endeavor." Pegasus waived his hand about as if dispelling the notion like a haze of smoke. "You ever tell anyone I said this and I will vehemently deny it; but I am rather looking forward to the PersaComm launch next year. Kaiba Corp. does have better resources for that particular technology and I will most certainly be making a personal purchase."

Seto was stunned at the answer; although, he never let his poker face slip. He and Pegasus had had a brief partnership back in the early days of Solid Vision and his first few years as CEO. However, once Seto had realized he could strike out on his own and increase his brand without the backing of Industrial Illusions, all the friendliness had vanished. (Also, the numerous times Pegasus had tried to overtake his company and kidnap his brother did not help rekindle the flames of camaraderie.)

Pegasus's gasp and excited face peering into his own was the only thing to bring him back to the present moment.

"Wait! Oh, Kaiba-boy! Are you really calling Blue by her first name?!"

Crap.

* * *

After being spun around the dance floor for far too many songs by the youngest Kaiba brother, Kisara had excused herself from the party. She had said she was going to the restroom, and that is indeed where she wound up; however, her true reason for escape was to evade the numerous men who had attempted to cut in on her dancing with Mokuba. The night had started to wear on and she felt certain if she could just make it to midnight, she could avoid an awkward stretch of time in a stranger's arms.

Thankfully, the bathroom she had found was far enough away from the main ballroom that she was alone. With a sigh, she leaned her back against the counter, tilted her head back, and closed her eyes.

Parties always did take it out of her. Granted, this event and the Kaiba Corp. Shareholders weekend a few months previous had been her first foray into this kind of industry shindig; however, even the few parties she had been to with Serenity's friends had been less than enjoyable.

Unfortunately, Kisara's solitude was to be short lived. The bathroom door slammed open, causing the girl to jump.

"Oh, so sorry, dear!" The woman was a tiny, frail looking thing. Her short, stooped stature was only enhanced by the mountain of sparkling gems sewn into her dress, adoring her wrinkly hands, and glittering in her massive tiara. "Didn't mean to startle you. Just require the loo is all!"

"Uh, sure. No problem," Kisara replied. Grinning madly and shuffling about as if still in the arms of a dancer, the old woman toddled and sang softly. Kisara was fairly sure the woman was more than a little drunk. Suddenly, the woman slid to a stop and fixed her with a scrutinizing look.

"Oh!" she said and snapped her fingers, her face lighting up. "Yes, of course. You're the girl who arrived with Seto Kaiba, correct?"

"Um...yes, that's me." Kisara had hoped her tone sounded brusque enough to end the conversation. Sadly, the old woman was too into her glass to pick up on such social cues. She leapt to Kisara's side (oddly spry for her age) and latched onto the girl's hand.

"My, my, dear. What a lucky one you are! He certainly is a handsome young man; although he is quite serious. Always has been, you know?"

"Um…" The woman carried on.

"Yes, my husband used to do business with Gozouboro Kaiba some time ago. Such a sleazy man, I never did like him much. He just came off as rather fake. And my feelings certainly did not change after he adopted those boys.

"I recall the first time I ever saw that Seto of yours. He couldn't have been any older than twelve years old at the time. But, so stern, stoic. He has an old soul. I could see it; right there behind those eyes."

The woman suddenly peered up into Kisara's face with a toothy, knowing smile.

"Of course, I have seen the way those eyes have been following you tonight. You two certainly have such a strong connection. Believe me, I can tell."

Kisara didn't so much as flinch when the old woman used her free hand to sweep at her long, free tresses. Had Seto been looking at her more than usual? Had she really not noticed? Or was this woman seriously hammered?

"Anywho, he certainly is a lucky man to find a girl so utterly breathtaking. Truly, my dear; you have an ethereal kind of glow to you. As if you could be a queen or a goddess. Yes, he is very lucky to have you for a girlfriend."

"Oh, no, no! We're not-"

However, Kisara didn't get a chance to correct the woman as she merely gave Kisara's hand a pat and excused herself back to the party (clearly forgetting that she had yet to use the toilet.) The bathroom door swung closed and the girl was alone once again. After a long moment of disbelief regarding the bizarre encounter, Kisara scoffed and shook her head.

"Breathtaking. Yeah, sure, lady," Kisara muttered to herself. Heaving another sigh she looked into the mirror. Blue eyes, too large to her mind, stared back out of a pale face and even paler hair. Trailing down, she saw what she always saw: height and almost dangerously thin. Some people had remarked on her willowy figure through the years. Even Serenity was quick to say how jealous she was of Kisara's slender form. Regardless of the compliments, Kisara had never seen anything special about her physically. Even her dress, which rivaled the color of the sea and only enhanced the stark contrast of her eye color, did little to convince her that she was some great beauty.

Still…

Kisara shook her head and exited the bathroom to find the hallway lights had been extinguished. She assumed the staff was trying to keep the guests closer to the ballroom as midnight approached. Her heels clicked loudly against the marble floors as she leisurely returned the way she had come.

Her thoughts wandered.

What if Seto had been looking at her the way the old woman had said?

 _We're friends. Sort of,_ she reasoned. _He couldn't possibly want more. That was all just a game._

However, did she want more?

The thought stopped her cold. So jarring, that she was brought out of her own head to realise she didn't recognize the hall she had wandered into. The overhead lights had been turned off but the light coming from the entire wall of windows to her left was more than enough for her to see. She stepped to the windows and gazed out.

The courtyard the limo had dropped them off in lay beyond, covered in downy snow except for the tracks left by the cars. The castle walls arced around in a wide circle and clear across rose the clock tower, the face illuminated and beaming like the sun.

The short hand pointed up to the 'XI' while the long hand rested just past the 'IX.'

 _Fifteen minutes to the new year_ , she mused.

It was the stuff of fairytales. New Year's Eve in a castle in a beautiful dress with a ball only steps away.

And a prince. A prince she could never have.

For, after all, she was no princess.

* * *

"Come now, Kaiba-boy! You really expect me to believe you brought Blue all the way here because she's just a friend?"

Seto took another long pull off his champagne, ignoring the needling comments of Pegasus. The billionaire wasn't letting up though.

"Oh, you're really no fun, Kaiba-boy! You bring a beautiful, intelligent, witty woman to a dazzlingly romantic place like this and you're not interested?"

"Kisara is my employee, Pegasus," Seto said again, as much for himself as for Pegasus. "She works for me. And yes, she is also Mokuba's friend, which is the only reason she is here."

Pegasus waved the explanation away.

"Who cares if she works for you? She's contracted but once the PersaComms are produced, she's free range."

Seto tried not to growl as Pegasus winked at him.

"Also, you're the boss! If you want her, you can have her. Of course, if she wants you back, that is. Really, Kaiba-boy, I've never known to you pass up such a golden opportunity."

"I've had enough of this conversation, Pegasus," Seto finally snarled, his heart thumping at the incredulous ideas Pegasus had been spouting. He stood, slamming his empty champagne glass on the table.

"No need to get all huffy, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus acquiesced, also standing. He leaned closer to the brunette, his voice low.

"Just remember...the past has an awful way of repeating itself."

Seto stiffened, his blood ran cold. A memory from a time long before his current life flickered at the edge of his mind.

"What are you getting at?" Seto demanded. Pegasus merely gave a shrug in reply.

"You should protect the things you hold dear, Kaiba-boy. And take opportunities when they arise."

With that, Pegasus gave one final smirk and sashayed away from the table.

Seto tried to take a deep breath but he still felt too cold. Was this fear? He glanced back to the dance floor, needing to see that Kisara was safe. However, he couldn't pick her out among the dancers.

 _Where is she?_ , he thought with a rising panic.

"Seto?" The CEO gave a small jump as Mokuba appeared at his elbow. "Was that Pegasus you were taking to?"

"Hm?...oh. Yes. Where is Kisara?"

"She stepped out for a minute," Mokuba replied. "What did Pegasus want?"

Seto stepped past his brother absently.

"Nothing, just-..." Seto shook his head slightly and turned away from the dance floor. "I'm getting some air. Stay here."

Mokuba watched his brother disappear through the same door Kisara had taken not too long ago. He silently hoped Pegasus hadn't made Seto too angry.

* * *

Seto stepped out into the dim corridor and let the sounds of the party fade behind him. Irritated, he reached up and loosened his bow tie as he glided away, not caring where he went. He had to get away from all the noise and Pegasus's nosey advice.

 _What a bunch of nonsense,_ Seto thought with a grumble. This did little to ease his nerves though. How much did Pegasus really know about ancient Egypt? Could Kisara really be in danger? _No, I'm being ridiculous. My Kisara and that girl from my dreams are two completely different people._

He turned a corner; another corner. His dress shoes pounded against the shining floors like a heartbeat. He ignored the fact that the overhead lights in this corridor had been extinguished. He just needed a walk. That was all. He was just taking a little stroll. He wasn't looking for anything...or anyone.

After turning yet another corner, Seto almost had himself convinced that the ball of anxiety in his stomach was completely unfounded. Why was he out here, roaming these darkened hallways? Kisara was an adult. She could find her own way back to the party. She was fine.

He almost turned around to go back to the party. Almost.

If Seto had turned back, instead of continuing on his way, he could probably have saved himself a great deal of heartache. But, then, he also would not have laid eyes on a sight that would haunt him, in the best possible way, for the remainder of his life.

The outer wall of this particular corridor was nothing but windows looking out across the courtyard and subsequent castle walls beyond. These overhead lights had been left off as the light, reflecting from the snow outside, was more than enough to illuminate the hall. To illuminate her.

Kisara hadn't yet noticed Seto's presence. The CEO took the opportunity to etch the site before him into his mind, so as never to forget. Kisara seemed to glow in the moonlight, her white hair glistening against her sparkling blue dress. She almost looked paler in this light with her right hand absently twirling a lock of her hair as she looked out upon the snowy night.

She was a vision. She was a goddess. Seto didn't dare even breath, lest he break whatever spell he had been unwillingly put under.

But, of course, all moments must end.

Kisara chose then to turn towards him, clearly heading back to the party, when she spotted him.

"Seto!" She jumped and her hand went to her collarbone. "Don't scare me like that!"

Seto swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and shoved his, now sweaty, palms into his pockets.

"Did you get lost?" he prayed he sounded casual and strolled over to her side.

"No," Kisara turned back to the windows. She briefly entertained the thought that he had been looking for her, but shoved it away. "I was checking out the view, that's all. What are you doing here?"

Seto huffed and also faced the windows

"I ran into Pegasus inside."

"Ugh. Really? He's here?" Kisara groaned and cast her boss an irritated look. Seto chuckled at her dismay, meeting her gaze. He noted how her eyes seemed to glow in this light.

"Why do you dislike Pegasus? I thought you used to work for him." It occurred to Seto he had never thought to ask before. Kisara growled, crossed her arms over her chest, and turned her nose up at him.

"I was freelance," she clarified. "And ever since, he has felt the need to harass me at all hours of the day and night so I could fix his buggy systems. He's the worst kind of obnoxious, rich guy."

"Well, what does that make me?" Seto challenged, his tone light and a grin sliding into place on his lips. He failed to notice that all of his tension had melted away.

Kisara cast him a teasing glare and her own smirk.

"Oh, you're obnoxious, too," she explained, turning to give him her full attention. "In fact, you might be even worse."

"Excuse me?" he asked, pretending to be affronted by her playful accusation.

"You literally kidnapped me for the holidays," Kisara stated and gestured back to the view.

"Is it really kidnapping if there is a castle involved?"

"We are, seriously, in a castle. On new year's eve. In Switzerland," Kisara laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. She was reminded of her previous train of thought. The prince had appeared, searching for her. (Or, so, her fairytale would read.)

"Why is that funny?" Seto asked, watching as Kisara raised a slender finger to the glass and traced out an invisible looping design absently.

"Cause things, like this, don't happen to people like me," she explained and looked back to his face, smiling only the tiniest bit. "Thank you...for bringing me along, I mean."

He couldn't take those beautiful eyes, that delicate smile. Seto looked away.

"Don't mention it," he said. A beat passed before he added: "It's been...nice...having you around."

Kisara felt her heart thump at the comment.

"They'll be ringing in the new year soon," she said, looking to the clock tower beyond to see there were only three minutes to midnight. "Think we should head back?"

Seto weighed the odds between what he should do, as the CEO of Kaiba Corp., and what he simply wanted to do as himself. No, he didn't want to go back; and he didn't want Kisara to leave.

 _You've never been one to turn down a good opportunity…_

"Not yet," he said and turned to look at his employee. "Kisara?"

"Hm?" she answered, looking into his face with a raised eyebrow. Seto smirked and gently slipped his hand between Kisara's and the glass. Tingles shot up his arm at the contact, running straight to his chest in a burst of delightful warmth.

"Seto, wha-"

"Dance with me," he commanded and stepped back into the hallway, pulling Kisara along gently.

"You don't dance," Kisara blurted as her heart began to pound. The tingling and warmth from Seto's hand holding hers was flickering up her arm. Rolling his eyes, Seto tugged her closer and wrapped his free hand around her waist, another burst of tingles shooting up his hand as his fingers pressed into her back.

"Says who?" He challenged.

"Mokuba," Kisara retorted as her own free hand raised to rest on her boss's shoulder. Her mind raced, screaming at her how dangerous this was and that she needed to back down now; her heart, however, was doing back flips.

"Just because I don't like to dance doesn't mean I don't know how." His grip tightened on her hand and Seto lead them into a slow waltz. Kisara couldn't help herself and burst into giggles as her new dance partner lead her into a turn, their arms extending out and her skirt swirling around her.

"Well," she said as she came back into Seto's arms, "if you don't like to dance, why did you insist?"

"Because I wanted to," came the simple answer, Seto grinning. It was true. He wanted this. He wanted her to be close.

"And you just get everything you want?" Kisara teased as he twirled her again. When she came back into his arms, though, his countenance had changed. His smirk had tightened, his eyes losing their shine.

"...almost," Seto acquiesced quietly and pulled Kisara closer to him. He realised he wanted a lot of things. Things he had never entertained before.

Kisara gave into the moment and let him pull her close, laying her cheek on his shoulder. Their steps slowed until the two were merely swaying together in the darkened corridor. Seto pulled their joined hands in to rest close to his chest. His thumb rubbed across her knuckles softly, causing Kisara to shiver.

"Are you cold?" He asked without releasing her, his voice a mere murmur.

"No," she said, followed by a soft chuckle.

"What?" Kisara shook her head softly and finally looked up into his face, stopping their swaying. She was struck again with how handsome the CEO was; he both terrified and thrilled her.

"You're-" It took her a moment to find the words to describe how she felt in this moment, so close to him that she was certain he could feel the erratic beating of her heart.

"...very surprising," she finally said. Seto smirked and he released Kisara's hand to sweep a stray hair away from her face, his fingers brushing her cheek softly.

In that moment, eyes connecting, Kisara and Seto stopped thinking and simply let their emotions guide them. Seto cupped her cheek and ducked his head down. Kisara's hand went to his lapel and she reached up to him. Eyes slid closed; hearts thrummed.

Lightning struck as their lips finally met. There were too many thoughts and feelings to place in a comprehensive order. All they knew was that this moment, this kiss, was the best of each their lives.

GONG!

They broke away, startled, as the clock tower struck midnight and began to ring out the new year. Cheering could be heard, distantly, from the forgotten ballroom and the world came crashing back in.

Kisara and Seto stared wide eyed at one another. Their brilliant minds were running the same dialogue:

 _We've muddied the waters._

 _We've gone too far._

 _I really want to do that again._

Kisara, for once at a loss for how to proceed, cleared her throat and took the tiniest step back. The warmth dissipated and she almost felt the need to cry at the loss but her sense prevailed. This game had to end. She needed to re-establish the boundaries.

"Happy new year, Seto," she muttered, her eyes riveted to his lapel which her hand was still grasping.

Seto could feel it. Could feel her putting the walls back up, her running away from him. Not again. He didn't want to stop and he refused to.

Resisting the urge to growl, Seto pulled Kisara flush against him once more. Her eyes widened and clashed against his smoldering ones.

"Kisara…" he murmured before crushing his lips against her's fiercely.

She could have fought it. Pushed him off, gave him hell for smothering her like this.

But Kisara wanted it too.

She kissed him back, spearing her fingers through his hair to pull him closer: Seto responded in kind.

They couldn't let go.

* * *

 _Author's Note: So...happy New Year? I'm late, I know! I'm sorry! But, a chapter worth waiting for, right?...Right?...Ahem, ok, well, the next chapter is actually written and ready to post so can I get three new reviews? Stay sweet and catch ya next time!_


	18. Chapter 18

They kissed for what felt like hours. It had only been the sound of approaching party goers that had torn them away from one another, gasping for air and wild from the heat of their moment together.

They didn't say anything after returning to the party. Would not so much as look at one another.

Upon returning to the chateau, Kisara said her goodnights and quietly retreated to her bed. Seto, ignoring Mokuba's questions about where they had been at midnight, did the same.

Their last day in Switzerland was spent avoiding each other as much as possible, each hiding behind their laptops. Even Mokuba could not convince them to emerge from the safety their work provided. In fact, it wasn't until almost a full week after they had returned to Domino that Kisara and Seto even addressed one another. Of course, this was only because they had a strategy meeting with the PersaComm team and were forced into each other's presence.

"Alright, Mikami and Yana have the team assignments. I want progress reports by the end of the week," Kisara instructed, doing her best to ignore the imposing presence of her boss at the back of the room. "If you have issues, ask me. We're done here."

The group gathered their belongings, chattering and planning as they began to file out. Kisara answered a few questions and ignored the knot forming in her stomach when she noticed Seto still at the back of the room. He appeared nonchalant as he scrolled through his phone but Kisara had a sinking feeling that he was hanging out for a distinct reason.

"Any comments?" Kisara finally asked as the last of her team departed, leaving just her and the CEO alone. Seto finally looked up from his device and met her gaze.

 _Don't crack,_ Kisara thought, angry that her stomach gave a little twist.

"Not about the project," he finally said, stoic.

"Oh?" No way was she going to let on that she had even thought about New Years. Nope.

"We need to talk about Switzerland." Seto wanted to cringe at his own words but he needed to clear the air. Avoiding Kisara was becoming too much and he just wanted things to go back to how they were. Well, he had convinced himself of that anyway.

"It was a mistake," Kisara replied evenly. The lie sounded almost believable to her.

"It shouldn't have happened," Seto piled on. Even though his heart gave a little pang at her brusque tone.

"So, we can agree that we are just colleagues and it never happened."

"Agreed."

"Good."

"Great."

They lapsed into silence, each trying to keep up their veneer of indifference. Amazingly, Seto was the first to crack.

"You're going back to R&D?"

"Mmhm," Kisara hummed and tore her gaze away from his, proceeding out of the conference room. Seto fell into step beside her.

"Going to your office?" Kisara kept her voice level as she punched the button for the elevator.

"Yes." Oh great, they were both going up, then. Kisara debated just bolting for the stairs and trudging up the twenty some odd flights. However, that wouldn't have been professional.

"By the way," Seto murmured, low enough so as not to be overheard, "that thing that didn't happen...was pretty good."

'Pretty good' didn't even come close to how it truly was.

"Um, yeah it was...good." _Great. Amazing. Good god, why him?!_ "But, ya know, we're adults and it's not going to happen again so…"

"Of course," Seto agreed, once again, wanting to kick himself. He should stop while he was ahead. What was it about her that made him act this way? Like an irrational smitten teenager?

As the lift arrived and the doors opened, Seto graciously allowed Kisara to enter first before following her inside. The doors slid shut but didn't cut off the aura of tension surrounding the two.

One floor.

Two floors.

Three floors.

Kisara cast her eyes up to Seto and caught him as he had just turned to look at her. There was no breaking this connection.

It was all too much. Seto arms wrapped around her waist at the same moment Kisara's cool hands skimmed over his shoulders. Lightning struck for the second time as their lips collided.

Kisara's fingers plunged into Seto's hair. One of his hands skimmed up her back, sending toe curling curling tingles down her spine, and grasped onto the back of her neck. Their lips worked furiously against each other, tongues clashing in a battle neither would win.

It was amazing and hot and magic.

The elevator doors opened onto the R&D department and Kisara and Seto were apart, the latter straightening her hair while the former tugged his tie back into place. They weren't looking at each other.

"We can discuss this new business venture later. I'll call you." Seto's tone was calm, cool, collected.

"Sounds good," Kisara replied just as evenly and stepped off. She turned back and grinned at the CEO. "See ya later, Seto."

He smirked as well as the doors closed between them.

* * *

Somehow, Kisara had made it through the day and all the way home without seeing Seto again. At Kaiba Corp., she had been the perfect employee, working with a diligence that could not be rivaled. However, upon arriving home, she couldn't bring herself to retreat to her lab. Instead, she found herself lounging on her bed and playing with Lil-Blue.

Laying down on her stomach and a pillow propped up under her chin, Kisara gave a playful tap to Lil-blue's head. The persacomm proceeded to scuttle after her hand as she trailed it across the sheets, attempting to pounce on it. The little dragon finally succeed as a knock sounded on the door, distracting Kisara.

"Come in," she called and turned over to face the door. Serenity cracked it open and peeked inside.

"Blue? Are you ok?"

"Hm? Yeah, of course." Serenity finally entered completely, toting a grocery bag in one arm. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just...you're usually in the lab…"

"I got a lot done today, so I'm relaxing," Kisara answered and sat up. Lil-blue scurried up her arm to lie across her shoulders. Serenity smiled and sat on the edge of the bed, setting her bag down.

"That's good! You work so hard all the time," she replied and reached out to pet the little dragon on the head. "You still haven't told me about Switzerland, though. Was it fun?"

Kisara felt a delicious burst of flutters erupt in her stomach. Fighting back a blush, she cleared her throat.

"Yeah, it was fun," she choked out and fiddled with a lock of her hair.

"Kaiba didn't make you work the whole time, did he?" Serenity pressed and Kisara chuckled softly.

"No. We actually hung out a lot. It was a vacation, ya know." Kisara glanced at her roommate and noted Serenity didn't seem entirely convinced. "What?"

"You guys hung out?"

"Yeah. And Mokuba, too," she tagged on. Kisara pieced together that Serenity didn't know where she went on weekends. Maybe she thought she was just putting in extra time at Kaiba Corp. Suddenly, she didn't want to give her any more clues as to what was going on.

"So, what did you get from the store?"

"Just some essentials. I was thinking chicken skewers for dinner?" Kisara nodded her agreement as Serenity reached into her bag. "Oh, there was a package for you in the mailbox."

The brunette passed off a non-descript brown box, slightly larger than her hand, off to her. There was no return address but Kisara had a good idea where this box had come from.

"Must be some parts I ordered." The lie was easy and it achieved exactly what she wanted.

"Ok, well, I'm going to start dinner. You heading down stairs?" Kisara gave a brief nod and let Serenity close the door behind her before she ripped into the package.

A gleaming white cell phone, the touch screen dark, was nestled inside. She plucked the phone out and held down the power button until the screen lit up. The home screen came up instantly; someone had already set everything up. The message app flashed in the corner, indicating she had a text. Her hands were steady as she tapped the icon and the message filled the screen.

 _Meet me at 7:30pm._

 _-SK_

An address was listed below. The clock at the top of the screen said 6:57; this didn't give her much time to think.

 _I shouldn't do this,_ Kisara thought as she placed Lil- Blue on her nightstand, pressing the button on its back for "sleep mode." As the little dragon curled in on itself, she went to her closet.

 _This is a bad idea._

She ripped off her t-shirt and replaced it with a light blue tank top. Practically jumping to her dresser, she pulled out her favorite pleated black skirt and slipped it on over her hips. Remembering that it was only January and almost freezing outside, she grabbed up a pair of white thigh high socks and slid them on.

 _He's your boss._

"Heels or boots?" She murmured before settling on the short black heels. _They'll come off easier._

Kisara paused with her hand on the knob. What was she doing? Seto was her employer, she was his employee. What was she doing putting on this scandalous outfit to rush out and meet him? What did she expect to happen?

Kisara glanced down at her new phone. 7:05.

"Fuck it," she muttered, grabbing her KaibaLand jacket and proceeding out the door.

"I gotta head out," she called as she slipped her arms into the sleeves and shoved the phone in her pocket. "Work thing. Don't wait up!"

* * *

Whatever Kisara had been expecting, it most definitely was not the noodle shop she was currently standing before. She checked her new phone again, making sure that she was at the right address and everything checked out. Shrugging, she walked into the restaurant, the bell over the door tinkling. She scanned the small eatery for Seto but didn't spot him anywhere.

"Looking for someone, dear?" Kisara jumped as an old woman, wearing an apron and clearly working here, appeared at her elbow.

"Oh, um...well-"

"This way," the crone said cryptically, pulling on Kisara's elbow and leading her to the back of the restaurant, right through a door marked 'Staff Only.' The woman continued to lead the way through the kitchen and out another door that opened onto the alley. Before Kisara could continue back outside, the woman gave her a gentle shove into an alcove with a dark staircase leading up.

"Why-"

"Just go up, dear." The old woman retreated back to the restaurant and left Kisara alone. Sighing, Kisara tugged her jacket around her tighter and trekked up the stairs. When she reached the top, she was met by a steel door. Considering who she was supposed to be meeting, Kisara forewent the knocking and simply pushed the door open.

The apartment beyond was the height of the latest western design; a complete departure from the quaint restaurant downstairs. Everything looked grey in the dim light but Kisara could tell the real decor was a mix of blues; navy, pastels, and more. The entryway was short, sporting a coat rack on one side, before splitting off to a kitchen on the right and the living room beyond. The far wall, of which was nothing but floor to ceiling windows, gave a miraculous view of the bay of Domino beyond.

"I see you found the place ok." Seto was seated on a low, modern styled couch; his back to her and looking out on the view. Kisara closed the door softly behind her and proceeded into the apartment, her heels clicking on the floor.

"Is this whole place yours?" she asked as she peeked into the pristine kitchen, with its stainless steel appliances, before coming up behind the couch.

"Who else's would it be?" he scoffed and took a swig from his glass. The ice cubes chinked against the crystal. "I bought it with the money I made from my first virtual reality software."

"Wow. I think the first thing I ever bought was a take out pizza," Kisara laughed as she came around the side of the couch. Seto shot her a smirk and Kisara felt a blush rise to her cheeks. He was not in the same suit she had seen in him earlier. No, the CEO had donned a pair of dark wash jeans and a dark blue long sleeved shirt. He looked so simple compared to his usual wardrobe, but no less attractive.

Seto appraised her, too; she was wearing his favorite skirt and the sight of her long legs made him grateful that they were here.

"Do you want a drink?" he offered and Kisara nodded, peeling off her jacket and sinking onto the couch, close but not close enough to touch. Seto plucked a few ice cubes from the silver ice bucket and poured a healthy dose of amber liquid from decanter before passing it to his companion.

"Thanks," she murmured and took a long pull, hoping to quell her nerves at the situation. She was really here, alone, with her boss, whom she had made out with not even ten hours ago. Kisara shifted, pulling her knees under her, and resting on her side, her free arm going to the back of the couch so she could see Seto in profile.

"So,...what now?" she asked. Seto turned his head to look at her, his eyes starting at her's and trailing down.

"That top's nice." Kisara scoffed and took another swig from her glass, Seto copying her and draining his glass before setting it on the side table.

"We need to lay down some ground rules," she clarified. Seto's reply was to produce a glittering silver key from his pocket and offer it to her.

"We can meet here when we want," he said and Kisara gently took the key between her own fingers. "Only contact me on the phone I gave you, too."

"You created a private phone line that transmits through the Kaiba Corp. mainframe," she said as she examined the key.

"It's encrypted, too."

"Impressive."

"I know."

Kisara chuckled and took a last pull from her glass before setting it down on the coffee table in front of her. Flicking her hair behind her, Kisara scooched over and straddled Seto's lap, facing him with fierce, glowing blue eyes. Grinning at his look of surprise, Kisara leaned forward and pressed her lips against his softly. Lightning struck for a third time. Seto let his eyelids slide closed and leaned into the kiss, one hand resting on Kisara's lower back and the other tangling into her long soft hair. Just when the kiss was becoming heated, Kisara pulled back, panting.

"I have one more rule," she said as she swept at Seto's bangs, taking in his darkened eyes. She ran a thumb down his cheek to rest beside his parted lips.

"We are business and sex only," Kisara stated, her voice low and husky. "Don't got falling in love with me, Seto Kaiba."

Suddenly, it clicked with Seto just what Kisara was playing at. Placing herself on top of him and initiating the kiss; it was all a ploy to put her in the position of power. Oh, she was good, but two could play that game.

Without any warning, Seto grasped Kisara's hips and shifted them swiftly, laying her down across the sofa and placing himself over her. He grinned as her blue eyes widened at the sudden change.

"I was about to tell you the same thing, Kisara." And he kissed her again. She pushed up against him, her hands tangling in his hair while his hands skimmed down her sides, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

There was no going back. Every touch, every sound, every movement led them further into the fire they had created. Clothes were removed and tossed away without a care. At some point the pair had made their way to the bedroom but neither could tell when exactly. They were enraptured with one another. It all escalated so quickly. It was only as the height of their passions came crashing over them, each clutching the other close, that reality began to edge back in.

Panting and covered in a thin sheen of perspiration, Seto stared down at the exquisite woman beneath him. Her chest rose and fell with her own gasping breaths, her eyes closed and her head turned to one side. Her hands, her long, slender fingers, loosened their hold on his shoulders but did not fall away.

"Kisara…" Her name came out in a husky murmur. Blue eyes fluttered open and she turned to look at him.

His hair was disheveled, his eyes half lidded but glimmering still. The dimness of the room cast a shadow over face that made his sharp cheekbones stand out even more. Gently and unconsciously, Kisara laid her palm on his cheek.

"Seto…" It was barely a whisper. The CEO gave the barest of grins, a mere turning up of one side of his mouth. He closed his eyes and set his forehead against hers; Kisara let her eyes slide closed, too.

It was done. They could never take it back now.

* * *

 _Author's note: A short chapter but I hope everyone enjoyed! I'll try to update again soon but the next chapter is not even started yet. Please leave a comment and catch ya next time. Stay sweet!_


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